Ancient Island: A Natural History
by Sarge Ray
Summary: Link and Zelda may have been to the island, but the creatures they saw were only the beginning. Join me on a journey through this world's habitats and wildlife from seashores to mountaintops. COMPLETE! But I will take suggestions...
1. Introduction

**Ancient Island: A natural history...**

Somewhere in the great, unknown sea, a true oddity existed: an island, far to the east of Florida, frozen in time; an island where prehistoric creatures never perished. On the day it was discovered, some time in the middle ages, only three people had been on it and survived. The first one committed suicide, wanting to forget the nightmare. Sometime in the seventeenth century, a team of explorers set out to find the island and either explore or colonize it.

Sadly, the island was too bloodthirsty for colonization with most of the people there eaten by the monsters on the island or killed by other forces from storms to geologic activity. It wasn't until the whole colonist group was killed that exploration seemed to be enough. They had plenty of time for exploration, but for reasons unknown, the expeditions had stopped at the turn of the nineteenth century.

The explorations started again in the early twentieth century, but unfortunately, fate had different plans. Two hundred years after its discovery, the island shared the same fate as Atlantis of old. A massive volcanic eruption from the depths of the sea wiped out the magnificent island, taking its unique creatures and unexplored history under the waves. Now, the only records are that of a few books passed down by the explorers. The island, as far as their descendants now know, is no more than a legend. THIS is the natural history of the island and its unique wildlife; the lost logs of the discovery of the millennium.

**The Traveling Land**

Ancient Island was a geological traveler. Geologists speculated that the island originated sometime in the Carboniferous period and retained similar habitats. It eventually connected to the land of Pangaea, breaking off at the end of the Triassic Period, taking with it several animals to add to its already diverse life.

The island rode along volcanic eruptions, sailing the oceans like a geologic boat. Land bridges came and went, and animals rode along with the island and continued to adapt to the habitats it had already formed. The island traveled through the ancient Tethys sea during its cruise halfway around the world. Dinosaurs joined from the early Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous and mammals joined in as well as giant birds at the start of the Eocene.

In the latter part of its journey, Ancient Island became the ball in a geologic Ping-Pong game. It went back and forth between places like Africa, South America, Europe, and North America. During its journey, the land got battered by earthquakes and volcanic activity, taking pieces of it to the sea. When the land reached its journey's end, it was the size of Madagascar, then it sank to the depths of the ocean in 1935.

_Yes, I will be treating this place like it was in OUR world. That way, you can sort of picture it in real life and will make some of the creatures seem sensible._


	2. The Shores

**The shores**

The seashores may have seemed peaceful at first glance, with white, sandy beaches and a beautiful ocean view. But don't let looks deceive you; it was often as dangerous as the inner part of the island. Not only did the seashores become victims of monstrous storms, there were still plenty of predators, scouring the shore for anything the sea spat up. The shores consisted of two types of landscape: the southern side of the island had sandy beaches while the northernmost part had a craggy shore.

**Wing-Lizard**

_Pterosaurus minimus (Small, winged lizard)_

9-15 inches long

Explorers first arrived on Ancient Island in 1853, hoping to find anything that was interesting and bring it back if they could. They found something on the first journey.

Not a true pterosaur, this little reptile's closest relatives were actually chameleons, and the wings were no more than extensions of the ribs. Its ancestry easily showed in its eyes, which could move in two different directions. It also had a long sticky tongue to catch its favorite food: insects.

The most unique thing about these little lizards was that they had given up arboreal life completely for a life on the shores. The little lizards couldn't really fly. Instead, they did extended glides with occasional flapping to remain airborne for a few more seconds.

**Giant Wolf**

_Gigacanis brutalis (Brutal giant dog)_

6 feet at shoulder, 12 feet long

This brutish carnivore was a beach comber, looking for anything the sea washed up from live prey like turtles and seals to carrion or dead animals. It was a creature that no explorer would want to meet up with.

Although it may have looked like a dog or hyena, it was not related to either. Its closest relatives were actually hoofed animals like sheep and goats. In fact, it had small hooves on its toes instead of claws.

As well as scavenging, this massive beast was also a well-prepared predator. It used its powerful jaws to immobilize prey, crack open even thick bones, and get at the delicious marrow inside. Not even a turtle's shell stood a chance against this predator's meter-long jaws.

**Titan Turtle**

_Titanochelon (Titanic turtle)_

25 feet long

In ancient legend, a sailor had survived a ship crash. And according to the legend, he floated to shore riding on the back of a giant turtle: this turtle.

This was the largest species of turtle ever. Yet this gargantuan reptile didn't live on the land and only came up on land to lay its eggs. It was a massive sea turtle, even more titanic than Archelon of the Late Cretaceous Period.

Females heaved themselves onto the shore every year to lay their eggs in the sand, which grew to the size of oranges. Males on the other hand lived alone, only coming into contact with other Titanochelon to breed.

Titanochelon was an omnivore, feeding on underwater plants and animals alike. It was surprisingly fast, able to catch animals such as small fish, but its favorite food was jellyfish, which it could easily pluck from the currents.

In the sea, this creature had no real enemies, but on land, it had the Giant Wolf to deal with. If Titanochelon were to encounter a shark in the shallows, it would snap at it with its horny beak, usually aiming for the gills to stop the shark from breathing.

**Devil-Lizard**

_Molochisaurus (Demon Lizard)_

20-30 feet long

Stalking the beach of Ancient Island was the biggest predator of the seashores. Molochisaurus was a terrestrial crocodile with behavior to make anyone fear it. Even the Giant Wolves that hunted the beaches would steer clear of these beasts.

Molochisaurus was unique from most other crocodilians in anatomical features. It had the powerful jaws of its inland cousins, but instead of webbed feet, it had blunt claws that acted like cleats. Its legs were tucked under its body to support its weight and to move faster than other reptiles could go. Its tail, when the animal was sprinting, would act as a spring of sorts, propelling the animal forward and not getting in the way.

Molochisaurus was an apex predator and hunted using its powerful jaws to disable prey, usually with a single bite to the midsection. If an animal got caught in this brute's jaws, there was little hope of escape.

**Bad-Crab**

_Malicaris (Malice Crab)_

4 feet long, 6 feet across

Scuttling across the beaches of the island, not too far from the waves, was a crustacean out of people's worst nightmares. It was bigger than most others by a long shot and had looks to harm the eye.

Malicaris was a crab with very prominent pincers and special armor-plating, making its back look like a kind of shield. Its legs were abnormally bulky for a crab and had small serrations on the edges for cutting up its food.

Malicaris was omnivorous: eating the algae and coconuts that washed ashore as well as any dead animal the sea spat up. It would eat as much carrion as it could stomach, peeling off pieces with its claws and legs. If it couldn't stomach it all, a female crab would deposit its eggs in the remains and give the young their first meal, providing they didn't get eaten.

**Crab-Monkey**

_Caridactylus (Crab Hand)_

2-4 feet long (head to tail), 2 feet tall upright

On the northern shores of Ancient Island was a primate that clambered through the broken shore like trees. Caridactylus was a monkey closely related to capuchins, but made for a different purpose.

Caridactylus was a highly specialized monkey. It specialized mainly in eating the crustaceans that wandered the rocky shoreline. It plucked crabs from the rocks and used its very dexterous hands to dismember the crustaceans. If a crustacean was too big, it would use a rock to break open the shell and get at the delicious meat inside.

Caridactylus was made to heave its body up rocks rather than clamber up trees. This adaptation came in handy for the broken terrain of the shores. The tail, no longer having any branches to hold on to, appeared to be a long-lost relic of its ancestors. It remained raised in the air, primarily for show for competing males and attracting females.

**Rock Crab**

_Petroscutus (Rock-Shield)_

12-28 inches in diameter

Out of all the creatures on the seashores, these crabs were the most common of them all. They swarmed across the rocky northern shores in their thousands, often making the shorelines look like they were crawling with a gray carpet.

Rock Crabs were larger than most crabs around the inland and had a carapace that was more spiked around the edges. It had abnormally long and strong legs made for latching on to the crags of the shore. Their claws folded in a mantis-style and threw its entire weight onto any small animal it could catch.

During the breeding season, rock crabs would crawl up the rocks of the seashore and into the island's interior. There, the males would mate with their females in the island's riverways while the females would deposit their seed into the river. When the eggs hatched, the young would get swept away by the river's current. Most predators anticipated this migration and would stuff their faces with any unfortunate crustaceans. But no matter how many they took, the predators didn't even dent the entire crab population.

_So, Ancient Island beaches aren't exactly a picnic. Any place with carnivores that can crunch turtle shells and crabs a little larger than life is sure to make things a little unpleasant._


	3. The Grasslands

**Inland Grasslands**

On this Madagascar-sized island, the grasslands around the rim of the mountain ranges were relatively rare; replaced by dense jungle in most places. Geologic study showed that the grasslands had decreased by fifty percent in the last century or two. But for those places, the wildlife there was just spectacular. It felt like being trapped in the plains of Africa in prehistoric times.

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Brachiosaurus

_Brachiosaurus magnificens (Magnificent arm lizard)_

45 feet tall, 64 feet long

There were no giraffes on Ancient Island, but that didn't mean that the spot was vacant. Brachiosaurs were one of many browsers of the gigantic trees on the island, reaching the vegetation no other dinosaur could reach.

Named after its long arms, this magnificent dinosaur could rear up on its hind legs to reach higher than it usually would and to push over trees with its massive weight. It had a neck that made up more than half its own body length to browse on conifer trees and other leaves. Its massive size made it virtually unthreatened on the perilous island. However, when they were young or sick, they were vulnerable to tyrannosaurs, carcharodontosaurs, and the massive crocodiles of the river.

These Brachiosaurs were physically different from their dinosaur-age cousins. Their ribcage was slightly shorter, giving them more maneuverability through jungles and rocky areas like canyons. It came in handy for the island's broken terrain.

**Giant Sloth**

_Megatherium hylaeus (Forest Big Beast)_

20 feet long, 8 feet at shoulder

Brachiosaurs weren't the only browsers on the island. While the sauropod dinosaurs got the highest branches, these giant ground sloths got the lower ones.

These behemoths were nothing like the tree sloths in South America, being over twenty times the size. They had giant claws to hook branches they couldn't reach and defend themselves, had thick, dinosaur-esque tails for balance, and weighed more than an elephant.

These massive animals were mainly vegetarians, but finding one scavenging wasn't uncommon. Reason stood to believe that these sloths could have become predators themselves. They may not have been swift or smart enough, but their strength would have been enough to kill most animals.

Not only were the sloths huge, they also boasted impressive defenses. Small bones beneath their skin acted like chain mail; adults had few predators to fear except dinosaurs or the dreaded Archaeodraco.

**Mammoth**

_Mammuthus archaeus (Ancient Burrower)_

14 feet at shoulder

There were mammoths on Ancient Island, but they weren't exactly as hairy as their Ice Age cousins. Geologists speculated that they probably got on the island when a narrow land bridge connected the island to North America before the last Ice Age.

Mammoths were highly adaptable herbivores, eating anything from leaves to grasses. However, there was one thing they couldn't stomach. Caterpillars could sustain themselves on pine needles, but a mammoth couldn't; just not enough nutrients. Mammoths would eat anything but pine needles and had to eat five percent their own body weight a day. They would often hoover up so much vegetation that they would migrate in herds of up to five thousand individuals to find more.

Unlike their ice age cousins, the mammoths of Ancient Island had fur only a few centimeters long and they lacked the fat of a cold-climate animal. Their tusks were also more straight than other mammoths, as they were no longer used to move aside high snow. Their tusks were used more often as weapons against predators or each other like modern elephants. Like their inland cousins, the modern elephants, their herds were mainly female; as males left at adolescence.

Migrations were hard on female mammoths, which were heavy with an eighteen-month pregnancy. Nonetheless, Mammoths made excellent mothers and a female would gladly adopt a calf whose mother had died. The females of a herd would work together and take care of all the young, even getting a quick identification of a newborn.

Mammoths had no real predators, save dinosaurs and the occasional sabertooth group. When targeted, the adults herded the young to the middle of the herd while the females stood around them to act as a barricade between them and the predators.

**Triceratops**

_Triceratops isolatios (Isolated Three-horned face)_

8 feet at shoulder, 20 feet long

There were several species of dinosaur on this island, making them the most diverse animals on the island. But the one explorers instantly recognized was this one.

The Ancient Island triceratops was a familiar face, bearing the same facial horns of its ancestors. Unlike its ancestor, however, this species of Triceratops was highly adaptable. It was a browser, like a black rhino, eating low branches and capable of snapping thick branches with its hard beak. But it was also a grazer, like a white rhino, foraging the lush ferns and grasses of the vast plains. Another main difference between these animals and the Cretaceous species was that the ones on the island were slightly smaller with shorter horns in comparison to the rest of their body.

Triceratops had poor eyesight, like rhinos, but also like rhinos, they had a keen sense of smell. These horned dinosaurs were highly social and lived in herds of up to twenty animals. Triceratops were easily startled and would stampede, or charge, if they felt threatened or angered. When cornered, they would first try and avoid confrontation by flushing blood in their crests and creating vivid patterns. If that wasn't enough, they would resort to violence, jousting with their horns and massive weight. Several predatory dinosaurs met their deaths impaled on the horns.

An adaptation to living in a herd for these dinosaurs was becoming viviparous. Females gave birth to live young, usually one or two calves. The calves had rudimentary horns barely an inch long, but would grow in time. The calves followed their mothers wherever they went, grazing on any plant she did, and learning what plants were safe to eat. The calves were independent at about two years old, but they had to be lucky to turn into twenty-foot-long adults.

**Tree-Crest**

_Botanicrista (Plant-Crest)_

20-35 feet long

One of the most common dinosaurs on Ancient Island, Botanicrista could be seen virtually anywhere on the island except the vast desert in the center of the island. Botanicrista's massive herds could be anywhere where vegetation was plentiful, even at the bases of mountains.

Botanicrista was a hadrosaur, a duck-bill dinosaur, which explained the crest on its head. This crest stuck out and then bent backward, looking sort of like a boomerang, with females being less prominent than the males. These crests had a thick membrane of skin down to the back of its neck that could change color at will to attract mates. Their crests were also hollow and close to their nasal cavities. Air would pass through this crest and exit the mouth, making a noise very similar to a conch horn.

Botanicrista was herbivorous, grazing on the grasses and ferns of the island. Since they had no real defenses against predators such as Tyrannosaurs, Carcharodontosaurs, or Dodongos, they relied on numbers for support. Many pairs of eyes could spot a predator quicker than just one. Had a scout spotted a predator, it would give a low, booming call to the rest of the herd, instantly scattering them.

Botanicrista laid eggs, often burying them in the forests with a scout to lure predators and other egg thieves away. When the eggs hatched, they would stay with their mother for six months until they were about half the size of an adult and ready to fend for themselves. Females born in a herd left at adolescence to prevent inbreeding while males struck out on their own or joined bachelor herds.

**Ceratosaurus**

_Ceratosaurus foetus (Rotten Horned Lizard)_

9 feet at shoulder, 17 feet long

One of many scavengers on Ancient Island, Ceratosaurus was one of the smaller dinosaurs. It was rarely a predator and it was not uncommon for one to get chased off by something as small as raptors, not exactly a match for their numbers.

Ceratosaurus lived solitary lives, often following a larger predator at a distance in hopes to find an unguarded kill. Ceratosaurus had highly acidic gastric juices for digesting even bone, making its droppings turn white. Should it find a kill, Ceratosaurus would wolf down as much of the carcass as it could before other scavengers arrived. If you didn't see Ceratosaurus, you'd very likely smell it first; it reeked of rotting flesh, having dug its face into it.

While lions today eat seventy percent of a carcass, Ceratosaurus would eat ninety if they had enough time. When one Ceratosaur finished with its kill, which was pretty rare, the carcass would be nothing but bones. However, Ceratosaurus would only eat intestines after shaking out the waste; dung was the only thing they wouldn't stomach.

**Raptors**

_Megaraptor deinos (Terrible Big Thief)_

6 feet at head, 10 feet long

Of Ancient Island's many predators, the raptors were easily the smartest and the fiercest. They were only about the size of a man, but were also one of the island's most successful predators. They rivaled gorillas in intelligence, wolves in social complexity, and wolverines in aggression. If they were the size of tyrannosaurs, the raptors would easily dominate the island.

Although they bore surprising resemblance to their Cretaceous cousins, there were notable differences, anatomically. These raptors had pads on their feet for silent stalking, still retaining their deadly sickle claw. Their jaws were also stronger than their ancestors', with a bite easily as strong as a lion's. Their wrists were no longer half-moon-shaped, looking more like a cat's, and giving them more dexterity with their hands.

Another notable feature in their anatomy was their ribcage, which was short, yet deep. This adaptation gave them great maneuverability, yet kept enough air in their lungs to breathe. Its leg pivots also allowed it to move its legs with much more flexibility, but it couldn't run as fast as its ancestors. The raptors' eyes faced forward for judging distance and pupils that could dilate for both daytime and night vision.

A pack of raptors was led by a dominant male and female; they alone were the only ones who could breed unless one of them was replaced. Males were larger and more aggressive than females, and it showed in several crisscrossing scars on their faces from tooth and nail. During a hunt, the raptors would close in, trying to encircle their prey. They had green scales and black stripes to camouflage them in the high grass that they specialized in using as cover. The raptors' top speed was forty miles per hour, but it could only keep it up for a few seconds. If the prey was out of range within fifty seconds, there was no hope for them to catch up.

The raptors' teeth were designed for holding onto struggling prey, so the kill didn't come from a bite. The raptors' claws were as long as a tiger's, about three inches long, but their sickle claws were double that size. When they landed on their prey, the claw would swing forward like a switchblade, digging deep into the flesh. The prey would die of blood loss from the several wounds these claws made; ruptured organs were not uncommon from these weapons.

Conflict showed that these dinosaurs competed with mammalian predators like the famed Saber-Tooth Cats. Both could get their way in a roaring contest and shows of strength. But when threats weren't enough, the results were often fatal. Both species would kill each other over a kill, territory, or family and kill the other's young to prevent future threats.

**Sabertooths**

_Smilodon deinos (Terrible Knife-tooth)_

4 feet at shoulder, 8 feet long

The largest cat alive today is the Siberian Tiger, but on Ancient Island, there was a cat that made the tiger look like a pussycat: Sabertooths. The Sabertooth was much more heavily built than any cat alive, made to take down large animals, sometimes even dinosaurs.

Like their prehistoric cousins, Sabertooths had fangs the size of steak knives; more than six inches long. Their forearms were packed with muscle to hold down even large prey that weighed over a ton. But this strength came at a cost; it could run at explosive speeds, but only for a short time. It was built for power, not endurance, so it was hopeless at chasing its prey down.

Sabertooth groups bore surprising similarities to lion prides with a dominant male and up to eleven females and young. Young were taken to a kill at about six weeks old and were allowed to eat red meat when they were weaned at about seven weeks old. Like lions, the male had to fight to remain dominant. If he lost a fight with another male, he would be forced out of the group and the new male would get his females and kill the cubs.

**Terror Bird**

_Geopteryx (Earth Wing)_

10 feet tall

In the mainland, the terror birds went extinct due to competition from cats and other predators from an unknown land. Such was not the case here. Here, flightless birds like this one were just as deadly as dinosaurs and almost as big, too. But this species was the largest at more than three meters tall.

Geopteryx was the father of all predatory birds, preying on anything it could overpower. It would stalk close to its prey, its head held low in the grass. When it was close enough, it would burst from the grass at over forty miles per hour. It had no arms, so it would use its powerful legs and head to knock its prey down to deliver a killing blow.

Unlike its jungle cousin, this bird had a beak more like that of a bird of prey, made for hooking into meat and ripping out chunks. Some of this meat would be stored in its stomach and regurgitated for its chicks.

Unlike its ancestors, which fled from the likes of sabertooths, these birds wouldn't do the same thing. If confronted with another predator, Geopteryx would lash out with its powerful talons and sharp beak. Only when the predator was too large to handle would the bird back down.

Geopteryx lived in tall grass, where it could hide its eggs, which were about the size of a honeydew melon. Thanks to its height, it could keep its eyes open for predators in the grass and would violently repel them if it could.

**Ankylosaur**

_Petrodorsaurus (Rock-back Lizard)_

25 feet long, 6 feet tall at shoulder

Out of all the herbivores on the island, Petrodorsaurus was the only animal that could go about Ancient Island with nothing to fear from most predators. The reason for this was the hard armor on their backs.

The behemoth was so heavily armored that even its eyelids had a thick scale over them. Its skull was heavily reinforced, protecting their small heads from most predators. However, by reinforcing its skull, it reduced its brain size. So, whenever encountered, it would react automatically and aggressively.

Its main weapon was a bony club on the end of its tail. They could turn sideways very easily to use the club, which could easily break the bones of most dinosaurs.

Petrodorsaurus were solitary, but would tolerate each other if they stayed out of the other's way. These armored dinosaurs would browse low-lying vegetation like a black rhinoceros, as they could barely move their necks. Another way for them to feed was to go along with other herbivores like Brachiosaurs or Ceratopsians, eating what they dropped from the trees.

**Fruit-drake**

_Volucersaurus botanivora (Plant-eating Flying-lizard)_

4-5-foot wingspan, 1-2 feet tall

Emerging at night came a new cast of creatures. One of which was Volucersaurus, a small, flying reptile with bulbous eyes and an oddity among the island inhabitants.

The smallest member of a group of flying reptiles unique to Ancient Island, this reptile could be only a foot tall. It looked like an iguana with a pair of batlike wings in place of arms and had a similar diet. Unlike its larger cousins, Volucersaurus was herbivorous, eating the fruit of the trees and occasionally eating the nectar of flowers.

Volucersaurus laid eggs and left them in a tree trunk under compost. The compost warmed the eggs while the mother searched for food. When she returned, she would check the temperature with sensory organs in her tongue. She would then add a layer if the eggs were too cold and remove one when they were too cold.

The little reptiles had to be quick on the wing to avoid predators. Being the main food species for larger aerial predators, they would fight with tooth and nail until the last breath.

**Tyrannosaurus**

_Tyrannosaurus gigas (Giant Tyrant-Lizard)_

40-45 feet long, 15 feet at shoulder

The dominant predators of Ancient Island were the infamous tyrannosaurs. Easily distinctive, the tyrannosaurs retained most of the characteristics of their Cretaceous ancestors. They had massive jaws lined with knifelike teeth, diminutive arms in comparison to the rest of their bodies, and long, thick tails. An interesting anatomical feature was a deep, but short ribcage, giving even an animal of this size astonishing maneuverability and agility.

Tyrannosaurs lived solitary lives, killing anything that they could eat. Their massive jaw muscles allowed them to crunch even thick bones and inflict serious damage on prey or attackers. When hunting, their powerful jaws could sink deep into their prey, inflicting fatal wounds, if not near-fatal. When hunting, tyrannosaurs would use coverage of forested areas and spring out at twenty-five miles per hour.

Unlike what most scientists speculated, male tyrannosaurs were the larger and more aggressive ones; not the females. Battles over mates were easy to see from the scars on their faces and most of these scars could be found even on the animal's skull. Some battles even resulted in the loss of teeth, eyes, and in one case, arms. The males marked their territories by rubbing their bodies down rocks or trees as both a warning to other males and an invitation to females.

If any tyrannosaur was recognizable, it was the infamous Scarface; the battle veteran of the island. When someone first described him in the middle ages, they referred to him as "neither crocodile nor dragon". Now, hundreds of years after his discovery, his skeletal remains could give us a hint of what he was like.

Scarface's face was covered in the scars from battles with his own kind amongst other species. The tip of his tail was bent from a fight with another male that he killed. A small array of bite marks on his shoulder blade suggested that he had a close encounter with a spinosaur or other predatory dinosaur. There was a huge scar on his right femur that could have come from a mammoth tusk trying to immobilize him. On his snout were a set of bite wounds that could have come from a battle in which he locked jaws with another predator. Some of the larger scars could have come from ground sloths or Spinosaurs, like the three slash wounds on the right side of his face. However, the most serious wound he ever got was during a battle with a ground sloth, which cost him his right eye.

**Carcharodontosaur**

_Carcharodontosaurus rex (King of the Shark-tooth lizards)_

42-50 feet long, 15 feet at shoulder

Carcharodontosaurs were one of the largest predators on Ancient Island, being longer than the tyrannosaurs, but not as heavy. If another carnivore was on a kill, they would quickly make way for this behemoth.

Carcharodontosaur jaws weren't as strong as Tyrannosaur jaws and their teeth were made to tear flesh rather than crush bone. Like most of the carnivorous dinosaurs here, their ribcage was more flexible than their prehistoric ancestors'. Another adaptation was their crocodile-like armor, which could protect them from each other and most other predators. The only known animals to damage them were Tyrannosaurs, Apes, and the infamous Archaeodraco.

Carcharodontosaurs paired for life, working together to take down prey as large as mammoths and, if they could, Brachiosaurs. Although they could kill large animals with relative ease, they weren't much of fighters, often using their size to chase other animals away. And like other theropod dinosaurs, their forelimbs were useless in attack.

Carcharodontosaurs relied on color to tell genders apart. Males were a deep orange while females were steely gray and their young were, oddly enough, mixed colors of green to hide from most predators. These colors faded as they reached adolescence.

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So, the huge animals are out here in the grasslands, including ol' Scarface. Whaddya think?


	4. The Rivers

Rivers

At first glance, the waters may have seemed promising, but explorers weren't fooled. The rivers were easily as dangerous as any other place around Ancient Island with its own fair share of predators. Even mighty predatory dinosaurs met their ends at the jaws of fish, snakes, or crocodiles while fish and insects recreated the battle in miniature. However, water was the life-blood of any ecosystem, so most animals had to brave it.

**Crocodile**

_Tyrannosuchus maximus (Massive Tyrant Crocodile)_

35 feet long, 5 feet at shoulder

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Tyrannosuchus would spring out after you with a pair of jaws that could slam shut with more than ten thousand pounds of force. These massive crocodiles could easily go unseen in the rivers and estuaries of Ancient Island, often arriving on seashores and preying on seals.

The crocodile's tail and powerful hind legs were its secret weapons of catching prey: anything from raptors to tyrannosaurs. However, the main weakness of the killer croc was that it tired easily. If it fought its prey or rivals for too long, it would tire out and would take the animal two to three days to recover.

Although these crocodiles were rarer than they used to be, the local dinosaurs were still wary about them. Even sauropod dinosaurs had to be careful, as one bite from a crocodile would easily crush their skull. If a crocodile latched onto prey with their powerful jaws, it would twist its body at speeds of up to two rotations per second. Other crocodiles, if there were others, would actually seize pieces of the carcass and hold it down while others ripped off giant chunks of meat.

Females laid their eggs in compost and rotting leaves, keeping the eggs warm. She would add another layer if the eggs were too cold and will remove a layer if they were too hot. Stealing the eggs of this mother was risky business, but there were plenty of takers. The most notorious thieves were Ceratosaurs, so they were often the most common prey of the crocodile.

Crocodiles were not above scavenging and would often walk right into kills made by other predators, even when the predators were still around. They would kill other predators over food, fighting with Spinosaurs, Carcharodontosaurs, and even Tyrannosaurs.

Most scientists believe that this crocodile species survived the island's sinking and the populations are now scattered throughout the sea. And these beasts are perfectly okay with it; they will swim into estuaries like saltwater crocodiles in Australia. If it should find a new land to call "home", heavens save us all.

**Terror Shark**

_Carcharodon deinos (Terrible Shark)_

10-15 feet long

These sharks were unlike any the world had ever seen. They not only ate fish and mammals out to sea, but also would catch prey such as small dinosaurs inland. If anyone thought that they were safe from sharks inland, they were wrong. This shark was easily at home in a freshwater river or estuary as it is in the sea. Its metabolism was highly adaptable, able to adjust the level of salt in its body to adapt to either fresh or salt water.

More impressive was the shark's hunting ability. Not only could it propel itself out of the water when catching prey, it can actually beach itself like a Killer Whale after a seal. Its pectoral fins are surprisingly powerful, able to push the animal forward when trying to catch prey on the land.

Like all sharks, Terror Sharks had to keep moving to breathe, lacking a swim bladder like most fish. Another unique anatomical feature was the ability to swing their upper jaw forward. This feature allowed them to close their mouth much faster than most animals. Its teeth were triangular and serrated like knives. When they bit something, they shook their head back and forth to get the teeth cutting like saws.

**Giant Anaconda**

_Potonaga gigas (Giant River Naga)_

75 feet long, 3 feet in diameter

Lurking in the waters was Ancient Island's longest predator: not a dinosaur or fish, but a gigantic snake that made the Reticulated Python and Anaconda of the inland look like earthworms. Though distantly related to South America's Anaconda, which can eat caiman crocodiles whole, this snake was capable of eating dinosaurs.

The giant anaconda had six rows of sharp teeth that curved backward to prevent prey from struggling free; they wouldn't escape without breaking the snake's teeth. Like all snakes, the giant anaconda had no eyelids, protecting its eyes with a clear scale. A unique feature of this snake was its coils; secondary brains in various places of the serpent's vertebrae allowed the reptile to control various places in its coils, giving it great maneuverability. Like its cousins, the giant anaconda killed with constriction. But if the prey wouldn't die soon enough, it created a new way to kill prey. If the prey was large like a crocodile or a dinosaur, it would twist parts of the prey's body, breaking bones via wrenching them around.

The giant anaconda wasn't like its mainland cousins, because unlike other snakes, it was actually warm-blooded. So if you thought you were safe from this snake at night when the temperature was cold, you were wrong. A warm-blooded metabolism made it so that the snake could remain active all day. But because of this metabolism, it had to eat much more than most constrictors do, giving it a ferocious, predatorial reputation.

**Death-fang**

_Fatalidon umbros (Dark Deadly-tooth)_

18-23 feet long

Another of Ancient Island's unique crocodile species, Fatalidon was a more aquatic crocodile, living in the rivers and estuaries of the island. It would only go on land to breed and no more.

Fatalidon was a truly bizarre crocodile, having no armor plating and its digits had become elongated and webbed. Fatalidon also had a tail fin similar to an ichthyosaur's. Fatalidon could propel itself from the water like a great white shark with equal ferocity. Its streamlined jaws were surprisingly powerful and their teeth were like pegs to hold prey down. While underwater, the prey was doomed to a watery grave.

Most aquatic reptiles clamber onto shore to lay eggs, but Fatalidon were born live and fully developed. The young were less than a foot long, but were already capable killers, hunting insects, fish, and amphibians. Their well-developed teeth assured them that they could hunt prey.

**Devil-Fish**

_Diablicthys (Devil Fish)_

19-28 feet long

If Satan kept fish, THIS would have been one of them. Lurking in the deeper parts of Ancient Island's waterways was a predatory fish with a face even a mother wouldn't love.

Looking like a cross between a fish and a bulldog, Diablicthys was a predatory fish that didn't know the meaning of the word "picky". If anything moved for this fish, it was possible prey from a small fish to a few species of dinosaur. Diablicthys would pluck prey from the surface or chase it down in the water before swallowing it whole.

Male Diablicthys were half the size of females and would swarm the opposite sex in an attempt to deposit their seed. Males unfortunate enough to get on the bad side of the female were eaten while those not fast enough were left tired and helpless. Baby Diablicthys were born scavengers, feasting on whatever animals didn't survive the river's trials.

**Croc-Mouth**

_Suchorosus (Crocodile Mouth)_

13-18 feet long

Another of Ancient Island's killer fish, Suchorosus lived up to its little nickname. This pike relative had a streamlined shape and long, vice-like jaws with a mouthful of needle-like teeth.

Suchorosus differed from Diablicthys in both hunting style and its dining technique. While Diablicthys ran its prey down, Suchorosus ambushed it with sudden bursts of speed. If Suchorosus caught its prey, it would crush its prey with its powerful bite, softening it before swallowing.

When they weren't hunting, Suchorosus mainly swam slowly through the waters as few predators could actually threaten it. If threatened with the terrifying Diablicthys, it would dart away until it could find another spot to slow down.

**Thunderfish**

_Brontoicthys (Thunder Fish)_

5-10 feet long

The predator who stalked the bottoms of the waterways of Ancient Island was perhaps the ugliest fish to ever exist. Brontoicthys was, not surprisingly, a relative of the deep-sea anglerfish with a similar hunting strategy.

Brontoicthys was repulsive with a stout body, a wide mouth that was packed with needle-like teeth, and a lure of sorts erupting from its forehead. Its eyes were small, which meant that it relied on its sense of touch to find prey. Special sensory organs near the fish's mouth could detect currents made by the movement of an animal. And stretched across its skin was black skin that was semi-transparent when shone to a light.

Brontoicthys would often hide itself in the murky water near the riverbed to stalk its prey. Burying itself in the muddy bottom, it would conceal all but its lure, which it would move like a worm. If the prey found the lure attractive, it was doomed thanks to Brontoicthys namesake. If prey touched the lure, the fish would send powerful electric currents through it via special pores along the worm-like protrusion. The prey was dead when it ended, if not, it was paralyzed and doomed to be eaten alive.

Oddly enough, the females were the sharp-toothed monsters that most river life feared. The males were no bigger than a human thumb and had only one sole purpose: mate with a female. If the male found a female, he would bite her and fertilize her eggs. It then gets absorbed into the female's body, but if it didn't find female, it lingered for about a month, then it would die.

**Brutefish**

_Bruticthys maximus (Big Heavy-fish)_

6-9 feet long

Out of all the fish on the island, Bruticthys was perhaps the oddest in relatives. It was an example of what scientists called convergent evolution: it looked like an animal, but was related to another.

Bruticthys had a shark-like look and was about the size of a smaller, predatorial species. It had a streamlined shape and triangular fins as well as a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and the lack of a swim bladder. It also had a cartilage skeleton, extendable jaws, and special sensory organs on the side of its face. However, its closest relative wasn't a shark, but the living fossil known as the Coelacanth. Upon further inspection, the fins had a limb-like structure to them, hence its true relations.

Bruticthys behaved like most sharks do, hunting prey alone and doing so with utmost stealth and power. Bruticthys would pinpoint its prey with the special pores on its snout. These pores sensed the electric currents that were created by the movement of a creature. Like most sharks, Bruticthys would use an exploratory bump. Should it get a response, it would give the prey a deadly hit at up to fifteen miles per hour.

Bruticthys laid egg sacs, often around the roots of mangrove trees or rocks. The young hatched well-developed and ready for the world around them. They were heavily patterned for camouflage in the weeds until they were big enough to hunt larger prey. Their predators included the several predatory fish and crocodiles of the river and adults were cannibalistic.

**Fish of the rivers**

If any place had a diverse array of fish, none could possibly match Ancient Island. Several species of fish could be found in the rivers, each one more unique than the other and ranging in size from the less than three inches long to the massive Terror Sharks.

To name a few species was the Frog Mouth _(Ranidorosus), _related to the tree monkey of South America. This species of fish was a completely different animal from its cousin, who could jump six feet to catch food. The Frog Mouth hovered around the riverbed, snatching unfortunate crustaceans and fish that accidentally tread on it.

A bizarre gar relative, the Alligator Fish _(Legarticthys)_, was a tiny version of its cousin _Suchorosus. _It would dart around the waters of the island, snapping up any fish small enough to snap up. Its eggs hatched into born killers, eating mosquito larvae, tadpoles, and even each other.

Looking like a cross between a cobra and an electric eel, the Slimefish _(Limicthys) _was NOT a pleasant thing for most animals to touch. Its slimy skin made it slippery enough to slip through the jaws of predatory birds and crocodiles. The slime also had a bad taste mixed with an adhesive, assuring the predator wouldn't want to munch on it again.

Ancient Island was also home to a species related to salmon, or the Lightfish _(Luminicthys)_ as it was commonly called. They would gather in the rivers in their thousands, coming from the ocean where they were born. The females would lay their eggs in lakes or slow-moving streams and then drift back to the ocean, completely exhausted and vulnerable to predators of the rivers and from the surface.

**Tiny Terrors**

A miniature battleground had taken place in the rivers. While the titanic dinosaurs tore each other apart for survival, a similar battle was happening in small gatherings of water. Insects would assassinate each other just to have their go at survival.

The predatory Ancient Island Water Beetle _(Scutocimex) _skimmed the waters, preying on larvae of other species from mosquitoes to water beetles. They caught these larvae with abnormally powerful jaws, dismembering the unfortunate prey and sucking out its juices.

Ancient Island was home to a voracious species of leech _(Decarnohydrus) _that had four, blade-like teeth in its maw. These leeches were the size of a koi and weren't just parasites, but tiny predators as well. They would attach themselves to a host and drink the precious blood of that animal. These same sheers could also be used to latch onto invertebrates or small fish and suck out their juices until they were no more than a hollowed husk.

A new species of aquatic spider _(Arachnedeina) _haunted the river's bottom, using special air sacs in its body to help it breathe and using a rock or plant to anchor itself to the bottom. About the size of a tarantula, this spider would prey on any small creature unfortunate to come too close. To ensure prey would get close, it would hide itself near plants so that herbivorous animals would try to get close before catching it.

Emerging from the water were several aerial insects, fully grown and ready to fly. The Demonsquito _(Diablocimex) _was noted for its bright red exoskeleton and would skewer the hides of large animals with its serringe-like mouthparts. Others such as the Bladefly _(Curiptera)_, a relative of tsetse flies,would get at their precious food with their scissor-like mouthparts.

_Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water. Crocodiles, snakes, even the fish of these rivers are dangerous. Even if you don't go in, you'll be driven mad by the bugs from Hell._

_Read and Review_

_-Dimensiondude_


	5. The Swamps

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Swamps

If you didn't like the gross or the stinky, the swamps of Ancient Island were NOT for you to enjoy. To make things worse, the predators here were gross and equally fierce as the dinosaurs outside it. Amphibians filled the role of aquatic predators while arthropods and non-dinosaurian reptiles filled the role as predators.

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Killer Frog

_Fataligyrinus foetus (Foul-smelling deadly frog)_

6-12 feet long

Lurking in the swamp's waters wasn't an alligator or crocodile like in the swamps of the mainland. Here, reptiles didn't rule the waters, it was their predecessors: amphibians.

Not a true frog, but looking more like a giant salamander, Fataligyrinus behaved in a manner similar to most crocodilians. It waited for its prey to come close to the water's edge, then launched itself out with its powerful tail to seize the prey item in its powerful jaws. Although they may not have looked like it at first, these amphibians had sharp teeth and a bite as powerful as a wolf's.

Fataligyrinus may have been an air-breather, but it was still water-bound. Its skin was much thinner than most animals' and it dried out in minutes, so it had to keep its skin wet, which may have explained why it was more of a nocturnal hunter. The other reason it was water-bound was its breeding habits: its eggs were like jelly, not like a chicken's, which has a tough shell. Because of this egg problem, Fataligyrinus had to lay its eggs in water.

**Slimy Frog**

_Limuranid (Slime-Frog)_

4-10-feet (head to toe tips)

Another of Ancient Island's amphibious predators lived in the swamps. It would be a great surprise to be jumped at from this amphibian, which had a full body span more than three meters.

Limuranid was a monster frog the size of a gorilla and would be hunting dogs if it was on the mainland. Extremely bulky for a frog, they had massive legs to propel their two-hundred-pound bodies into a spectacular leap. Although, in comparison to their body, they couldn't jump as far as their smaller cousins, they could still cover about twenty feet in a single leap.

Limuranid males were twenty percent larger than the females and bulkier as well. During the breeding season, the swamps rang with their booming croaks as their throats puffed up like a balloon. When young hatched from their jelly-like legs, they were the size of a goldfish and would continue to get larger until they were full grown.

Limuranids were pure carnivores, waiting under the surface and ambushing unfortunate animals. That prey could have been anything from a Deathspider to a juvenile raptor. Despite looks, they had a mouth full of tiny, razor-like teeth and their bulky arms could pin down struggling prey. When swallowing prey, the Limuranid would shut its eyes, forcing the prey down its throat.

**Deathspider**

_Mortisarachne (Death arachnid)_

8-foot legspan

In the swamps of Ancient Island, creepy-crawlies were everywhere and supersized. An example was the deathspider, a giant arachnid big enough to eat small dinosaurs and had an abdomen the size of a watermelon.

These spiders were distant relatives of tarantulas and just as hairy, too. Too big to weave webs, deathspiders often made hunter traps, lining abandoned holes with webs that acted like tripwires. If they detected even the tiniest vibration, they would wait for their prey to get closer. If it was close enough, the spider would jump out of their holes and attack whatever made them. If they got a good hold, the spider would inject its prey with a powerful venom that could attack the nervous system and cause eventual paralysis. Even if the prey got away after being bitten, the spider would still find it.

If the prey item was large, often around human size, deathspiders would gather in large numbers to take it down. When there were kills like this, there could be as many as twenty spiders. When at least three spiders were on the prey, there was no hope of survival.

**Dragonfly**

_Megaarthroptera (Big jointed-wing)_

4-foot wingspan, 38 inches long

For several years, people had thought that the biggest flying insect was Meganeura of the Carboniferous Age. Imagine the surprise of finding THIS terror of the Ancient Island swamps.

This monster dragonfly was the size of large birds and could fly at high speed: up to thirty miles per hour. Fifty percent of a dragonfly's head is its eyes, there was no difference here. Its eyesight was so good, it could spot moving prey on the ground. And yet, these large insects could still do something their smaller cousins could do: stop on a dime.

For an odd reason, the Ancient Island dragonfly had four growths on the end of its abdomen. No one knows why it had these growths; possibly to attract a mate. The young of Megaarthroptera were born in water and were the size of a peanut.

These dragonflies were carnivorous, like all the others in the world. However, these dragonflies took their carnivorous appetite to a new extreme. It preyed on large insects, but also hunted small amphibians, reptiles, and birds. It would swoop down like an eagle to catch land-dwelling prey and caught small birds and bats out of the air with its powerful legs. If these bugs were larger, they would rival most of the other predators of the island.

**Giant Millipede**

_Arthropedus hylaeus (Forest joint-foot)_

10 feet long, 6 feet while upright

Crawling along the swamp's floor was a monster arthropod the size of car. Though distantly related to centipedes and millipedes, it wasn't much like either. It had several legs, but it had different armor plating than most millipedes. The armor was so strong not even the predators of the swamp could bite or claw through it. Although the massive arthropod was a vegetarian, it had amazingly powerful jaws to deliver a powerful bite.

These massive odd creatures didn't have the attack behavior of centipedes or the venom. Nor did it have the defense mechanism of the millipede to spray a chemical to defend itself. Most predators were no threat to it with the occasional large dinosaur or Dimetrodon.

If provoked, the Ancient Island Millipede would rear up tall enough to look a person in the eye and clack its jaws as a warning. If the predator got any closer, the centipede will fall down on top of its attacker and bite repeatedly. If the arthropod had to retreat, it would do so with amazing speed despite its size. Alone, it could outpace a human and disappear into the depths of the swamp in seconds.

**Giant Centipede**

_Arthromorpedus (Jointed death-foot)_

9 feet long

Rivaling even the Giant Millipede in size was a three-meter predatory centipede. Prowling along the floors of the swamp, the giant arthropod would scour the swamps for some form of prey, even the giant millipede or killer frog.

Arthromorpedus was an apex predator, using its amazing speed to catch any prey that couldn't get away in time. If it hunted in the dark, which it mainly did, the giant centipede would use its antennae to feel around for prey or unfamiliar surroundings. When Arthromorpedus caught prey, it would use its spiny legs to hold the prey still while it dug its venomous fangs into the unfortunate animal.

Arthromorpedus had an odd lifestyle. It laid its eggs in a carcass and then abandoned them to their fate. When the young hatched, they started feasting on the carrion. When it was nothing but bone, the larvae would move out on their own, feasting on the dead until they were two feet long and ready to hunt their own prey.

**Giant Butterfly**

_Megapterocimex (Big-winged bug)_

34 inches long, 7-foot wingspan

Forget the Atlas Moth of the mainland, Megapterocimex outsized it on a far scale. The Atlas Moth was large enough to be mistaken for a bird, but this was the size of an eagle.

Megapterocimex had large eyes like its smaller cousins and a pair of antennae. Its wings were a shade of green to blend into the titanic trees of Ancient Island mixed with a few splotches of black. This camouflage only worked while they were in the trees, but useless when on the ground or flying around.

The main difference that separated Megapterocimex from other butterflies was that it had a pair of jaws rather than a proboscis. These had evolved to suit a herbivorous diet of leaves and ferns rather than nectar from a flower. These butterflies would also suck up sweat from dinosaurs that passed through the swamp.

Megapterocimex laid about a dozen eggs, which were the size of a chicken's, on the trunk of a tree. The caterpillars hatched out the size of a human thumb and ate their eggshells for their first meal. The young would eat several times their own body weight in leaf matter until they grew to the size of a human arm. They would then pupate and emerge as adults, ready to take to the air as soon as their wings dried.

**Dimetrodon**

_Dimetrodon carnivorus (Flesh-eating two-measured tooth)_

11 feet long, 3 feet high (excluding sail)

A long-lost relic of a familiar group of sail-backed pelycosaurs, Dimetrodon was a survivor from the Permian Age, when dinosaurs hadn't even appeared. Although it looked a bit cumbersome, it was actually quite agile and fast.

Dimetrodon, like crocodiles, buried their eggs in compost, defending them from any intruders, even if the thieves were several times their own size. Dimetrodon would kill each other over nesting territory if they got the chance, fighting with their sharp teeth and claws. When the eggs hatched, the mother would abandon the young to their fate. Adult Dimetrodon were cannibals; could and would eat their own kind if they can get them to improve survival of the species. When they were born, the young Dimetrodon clambered up trees like squirrels, away from the adults until they can fend for themselves.

Dimetrodon was a carnivore with specialized teeth, though not as specialized as its cousin the Gorgon. It had pointed teeth at the front for impaling prey while sheer-like at the back would cut meat into smaller pieces. Common prey items for Dimetrodon included the local bugs and amphibians with the only competition being from the giant lizard.

**Giant Lizard**

_Varanus megalos (Giant Monitor)_

18-25 feet long, 4 feet at shoulder

Forget Komodo Dragons, this lizard made it look like a wimp at almost two and a half times the size. This giant monitor was so large, it could and would prey on small dinosaurs.

Like snakes, the giant lizard had a tongue that could actually taste the air. This was what allowed it to see at night or in dark caves. Even if it never ate a certain type of prey, it would still be able to taste it from a distance.

Giant lizards could go virtually anywhere in the swamps like a reptilian all-terrain vehicle. It could accelerate explosively on land, but only for short distances. It had sharp claws to help it climb the rocks of steep hills and even mountainsides. And its powerful tail could propel it through the water with ease.

Juvenile giant lizards were more heavily patterned than the adults and less than a tenth of the size. Even though the young were small, they were already born killers; capable of killing smaller lizards, birds, insects, and spiders alike. The reason for the young's coloring was obvious as camouflage to hide from predators, being unable to defend themselves. By the time they were two years old, they had already grown to the size of your average monitor lizard and didn't reach full size until around five.

Giant lizards were ambush predators, sneaking up close to prey and springing virtually from nowhere. If they were in range, they would seize the prey with their powerful jaws and knifelike teeth. They would then try to drag their prey down with their claws and jaws, but if the prey escaped, then it was still doomed. Powerful bacteria in the lizard's saliva infect the wound and the prey would be doomed to a slow and painful death.

**Blade-tooth**

_Axiciadon (Scissor-Tooth)_

12-15 feet long

Most of the reptiles on Ancient Island were carnivorous, the same goes here. But you didn't have to be a genius to see why it was called scissor-tooth.

Named after a pair of sheer-like fangs jutting from its lower jaw, Axiciadon used them to slice off pieces of meat small enough to swallow. Primarily a scavenger, Axiciadon was a relative of the predatory Gorgons, but looked more like a cross between a giant lizard and an alligator. It had a short, heavily-muscled head and powerful hind legs with a wide tail that was used for offense.

Axiciadon wasn't much of a hunter, but could do so with surprising efficiency. They would pursue injured or small prey and dig their sheer-like fangs into soft places such as the neck or stomach, impaling it. They would then stuff their faces with any meat they could get in their mouth, as they would soon be driven off by larger predators.

Young Axiciadon retained the famed fangs of their parents, which they used to chop their way through their eggshells at birth. The fangs grew over time and sharpened themselves on the other teeth as they were ground together.

**Big-Bat**

_Ursamordax (Bear-bat)_

3-6 feet tall upright

If any animal had a stranger family line in the zoological scale, then this was possibly the biggest change. Ursamordax was a species of bat that had become supersized and given up flight completely.

Ursamordax was bear-like in appearance. It walked on four powerful legs and was surprisingly muscular for a bat. It had pointed ears as big as a human hand and a mouthful of varied teeth. It had molars for grinding up vegetation and sharp incisors that took the place of a predator's canines. All that was left of its airborne ancestry was a small amount of webbing between its digits, replaced by four-inch claws.

Ursamordax was an omnivore, eating both plants and unfortunate animals. Oddly enough, it was the only mammal to live in the swamps of Ancient Island. The oversized bat would eat bugs like its cousins, but these bugs were often as big as itself. Its long claws and sharp teeth could worm their way into the arthropods' armor like a knife.

Like its ancestors, Ursamordax could climb the towering tree-like fern relatives that dominated the swamps in the absence of trees. Its young also clung to the mother's underside as it navigated the ground and the trees. The milk of the mother would insure that the young would grow up fast and be independent in a matter of weeks.

_Looks like the swamps aren't a place for squeamish people. It has giant bugs, slimy, carnivorous amphibians, gruesome reptile predators, and a giant bat._

_Read and Review_

_-Dimensiondude_


	6. The Jungles

**Jungles**

Inside the jungle was where the true horrors of the island called home. The predators dominated most of the land, living either on the ground or in the trees. Even most herbivores were aggressive, trying to protect their turf, and would not tolerate any intruders. The jungles buzzed with activity from birds in the canopies to dinosaurs on the ground. The jungle's plant life was spectacular, ranging from tiny ferns the size of a dandelion to the towering, hundred-meter trees.

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Monkey

_Mandrillus deinos (Terrible Mandrill)_

5 feet tall when upright

Whoever thought all monkeys were cute, playful animals, really needed to get out more. These monkeys were easily as big as a human and would attack anything that provoked them. The reason for their aggression was unknown, but it was certain that it used to be toward each other. Now that the troops of monkeys have dwindled, they no longer trusted most animals.

Ancient Island's monkeys attacked in groups, often overwhelming their victims with their sharp teeth and powerful limbs. Should one have gone down in battle, another was usually there to cover it. Though the monkeys are primates, they weren't exactly the brightest of beasts, often being bested by raptors, which hunted them in the dense jungle.

Troops of monkeys were led by a top male. It was easy to tell who the male is: he was the one with the most scars. These scars came from fights with either intruders or other members of the troop. The monkeys had large canine teeth and bites to each other were very serious.

Highly arboreal creatures, the monkeys often clambered through the branches with great agility and flexibility. Despite their aggression, the monkeys were vegetarians; eating only leaves and fruits from their tree homes. The only flesh they ever ate was the occasional carcass to supplement their diet.

Even in the trees, the monkeys weren't safe. Accidents did occur when tree-hopping and there were predators in the treetops as well, the most common of which is the Giant Eagle. The giant birds would often pluck the monkeys out of the trees or catch them in the open.

**Arborsaurus**

_Arborsaurus velocios (Swift Tree-Lizard)_

8 feet tall when upright

Even on an island filled with oddities, this was a truly bizarre creature. When explorers first saw this and described it to others, the people couldn't believe their ears.

This was a dinosaur that looked nothing like other dinosaurs. Though related to theropod dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus, this species of dinosaur had given up sprinting completely. Arborsaurus had a short, compact skull with peg-shaped teeth, but its head wasn't interesting. What was interesting was that it had lost most of its leg strength that made theropods famous. Their legs were small in comparison to others, but its arms were long, lanky, and heavily muscled. Its neck was short and its tail became prehensile to suit an arboreal life. It had huge claws on its three-fingered hands and hooked claws on its feet, both for gripping trees. It was, in a sense, a dinosaur analog of a gorilla or an orangutan.

Arborsaurus was a solitary beast, steadily navigating the trees and searching for edible leaves, flowers, and fruits. It seems that in the distant past, Arborsaurus had given up meat-eating and turned vegetarian with the only meat being an occasional termite or ant. The dinosaur would use its large arms and claws to hook branches closer to its mouth or tear up roots to get at the delicious moisture inside.

Male Arborsaurus were much larger than females with larger teeth and more muscular arms. During mating seasons, the male would give out a noise similar to a crocodile roar mixed with a tiger's roar. During territorial battles, males would at first try to intimidate each other, beating the ground or trees with their powerful arms. If threats weren't enough, physical violence ensued with biting and clawing until one backed down. The skin of Arborsaurus was made to handle the brutality of these fights.

To adapt to life in the trees, female Arborsaurus became viviparous with the young well-developed and able to hold onto its mother until it can walk. Since they had no mammary glands like gorillas, the females would often regurgitate plant material and feed it to the young until it could find its own food. Young learned from the mother on what plants were safe to eat and how to avoid predators.

On Ancient Island, confrontations with Arborsaurus and the giant monkeys were not unheard of. Arborsaurus would back down if it was outnumbered, but if the monkey was alone, Arborsaurus would win through intimidation or physical force.

**Nightmare Panther**

_Vastanychus (Ravage-claw)_

6 feet long, 2 feet tall at shoulder

A smaller cousin of the Sabertooths lived in the jungles of Ancient Island. The assassin-like Vastanychus could prowl through the jungle virtually unheard until it was too late.

Vastanychus was the size of the African Leopard with a completely new look. Its tail was shorter than most cats' and it was completely black, unlike black leopards whose spots could still be seen. Most unfortunate prey couldn't see it until they saw its fiery, yellow eyes. It had jaguar-like fangs and jaw muscles and astoundingly large claws, hence its other name "the Nightmare Claw".

Vastanychus lived a solitary life and was mostly nocturnal to ensure it could hunt in its element. When stalking prey, it prowled low to the ground and placed each step with extreme caution. Even the faintest noise would alert prey to its presence and it would have been forced to spring. Another option for Vastanychus was a surprise attack from above. It would climb a tree and either catch prey in the branches or explode on unsuspecting prey below. Prey that couldn't see in the dark, such as monkeys or Arborsaurs were likely game.

During a hunt, Vastanychus would stalk as quietly as it could to get as close to the prey as possible. When it got close enough, the cat would dash forward and pounce. It used its claws to rip and tear at the prey with ferocity to rival raptors. If it got the chance, it would deliver a fatal bite to either the neck, severing the spinal chord, or the head, its fangs going straight into the prey's braincase. It would then wolf down as much food as it could before other predators, like dinosaurs, could chase it off.

Vastanychus had a surprisingly short gestation period similar to that of a lion. The cubs were small and helpless until they were three weeks old and given fresh meat at five or six weeks. By the time they were nine months old, they were already lethal.

**Hummingbat**

_Velocimordax (Swift Bat)_

3-4-inch wingspan, 2 inches long

Possibly the only adorable creature on an island of monsters was the diminutive Hummingbat, Velocimordax. It lived up to its namesake because it was a bat analog of a hummingbird.

Velocimordax was tiny, small enough to hang on a person's thumb and was white and fuzzy. Its ears were large and round, very mouse-like, and it had beady eyes like dewdrops. Its wings, like all bats was an elongated hand with a membrane of skin between its fingers.

Like its namesake, the bat could flap its wings at an almost-phenomenal rate so that it could actually fly backwards and hover in place. It used this mechanism to help it collect the nectar of its favorite flowers and evade predators at the same time.

Baby Velocimordax were born live and clung to their mother for the first week of their life. The high metabolism they shared with hummingbirds ensured that they would grow fast and be ready to fly in no time.

Velocimordax had no teeth, so it got nectar out of its flowers with a long tongue. This tongue could easily be twice as long as its body and could get deep into the deepest cavity of any flower. Because of the high metabolism needed to flap its wings so fast, Velocimordax had to eat up to three times its own weight in nectar a day.

**Beaversaurus**

_Castorsaurus (Beaver lizard)_

6-9 feet long, 3-4 feet tall

Right behind the ape-like Arborsaurus, Castorsaurus was the strangest dinosaur on the island. A theropod dinosaur that had turned opportunistic in feeding habits, eating plants, insects, and carrion if it could get it.

Castorsaurus stood on two legs and had smaller arms like its cousins. Its neck was short and compact for tearing off bark and pieces of meat. But the one main difference that separated it from most dinosaurs was in its mouth. Though it had sharper teeth deeper in the jawline, its two front teeth were much larger, giving it a buck-toothed look. These front teeth worked like rodent incisors, chiseling through virtually anything they chewed. It used these teeth to chew through the wood of trees in search of sap and insects. If it found an insect, it would insert a hooked claw into the hole and pick it out if it didn't get it with its teeth.

Castorsaurus was arboreal, using its hooked claws and powerful limbs to clamber through the trees like squirrels. It often leapt through the branches with amazing speed and agility, using its claws the same way a gibbon uses its hands. However, they weren't as graceful in the trees like Arborsaurus or the giant monkeys. To suit this life, females were viviparous and gave birth to up to two young, which nestled on her back and ate any food she gave them.

The one thing that Castorsaurus had that no other terrestrial dinosaur had was a mane of downy feathers. The feathers went from around its neck to its middle. It was unknown what they were for, but speculations were made. The first was that it was so the young it bore would be comfortable holding onto the mother. The second was a form of insulation in the cool treetops of the jungle.

**Killer Bird**

_Gigornis fatalis (Deadly giant bird)_

8 feet tall

One of many species of Terror Bird on Ancient Island, Gigornis was a cousin of Geopteryx, but built for a different purpose. It was far bulkier than its grassland cousin and had a beak shaped like a pair of boltcutters.

Gigornis was an ambush predator, waiting for prey to come close before charging. One snap of its beak could break an animal's spine and cause serious injury to any attackers.

Since it lived in the jungle, female Gigornis laid their eggs in a nest that was two meters wide and made of several sticks. It was fiercely territorial, and if an intruder came too close, the mother would move to defend her nest. Confrontations were violent and hearing one when not expecting it wasn't pretty. Gigornis would snap and kick at its opponent.

Unlike its cousin, Geopteryx, Gigornis preyed on smaller prey like small mammals and, at times, the giant monkeys. It more often preyed on creatures that it could kill easily and eat quickly. And if it was confronted by a sabertooth, it would quickly back down.

To prevent getting their lunch stolen, Gigornis would hide their meat under rocks or logs. When it hid its kill, Gigornis would scuff the ground with its feet to clear any tracks and defecate or urinate on the spot to hide the smell of meat.

**Gorgon**

_Gorgonops horridus (Horrid Gorgon-face)_

9-16 feet long

The jungles of Ancient Island were haunted by the assassin-like Gorgon. These massive, doglike reptiles were relics from the Permian Age of mammal-like reptiles. In stealth, they were outmatched only by the raptors.

Gorgons were solitary, only living together as mating pairs. The young were born live and cared for until they were about eight months old, when they can hunt for themselves. The mating pair and any available young would hunt prey as large as a triceratops with deadly grace.

Male gorgons were the bigger among the sexes and therefore did most of the hunting while their mates took care of the young. Females were about forty percent smaller than the males, but guarded their young against anything they could fight off. If a predator kept coming back after they killed young, the pair would eat their young, depriving the predator of food, and leave for new territory.

Emerging from the Gorgons' jaws were a pair of fangs the size of carving knives. It was these fangs that delivered the killing blow to soft parts of the prey's body, such as the belly or neck. While these were familiar in almost every mammal-like reptile, the unique thing about the gorgons were their arms. Gorgons' arms were heavily muscled and they could use them almost like we can use our arms. These more flexible limbs allowed them to maneuver small prey to a killing bite.

Gorgon skin was a shade of orange with several darker stripes crisscrossing all over their body to camouflage them from prey. When they were about fifty or sixty feet away, they pounced.

**Scale-hawk**

_Saurornis volucis (Flying Lizard-bird)_

6-8-foot wingspan, 2-4 feet tall

Dominating the skies of Ancient Island were not birds or pterosaurs, but flying reptiles descended from dinosaurs. While the more impressive members of this family lived in the mountainous regions, the jungle canopy was haunted by Saurornis, an eagle-sized dragon.

Like all the other dragons on the island, Saurornis had four limbs: a pair of taloned feet and a pair of batlike wings. It had a bird-like head with a mouthful of serrated teeth and a stiff tail similar to a raptor's. It also had a small pair of curved horns on its head, but these were mainly used for show against rivals or a scare tactic against predators.

Saurornis, like most eagles, was mainly solitary, only socializing during the mating season. Like the bird of prey they were named after, Saurornis was pure carnivore. It caught prey on the ground by swooping down on it and impaling it on its talons, but wouldn't turn down prey it could pluck from the air. It was common to see them roosted on the branches of a tree like a bird of prey.

Saurornis laid a clutch of up to twenty eggs inside a hole in a tree trunk. It couldn't make its own hole, so it would often relinquish them from birds, mammals, and other dragons. The eggs were the size of a golfball and the young hatched totally dependent on their mother, who would bring back prey in her talons. They would be ready to fly at adolescence: about eleven months.

**Dwarf Dodongo**

_Minidraco Avarus (Greedy small dragon)_

10 feet long, 3 feet at shoulder

Even on an island of oddities, this was an odd kind of dinosaur. First off, it had no hind legs, but powerful forelimbs to heave its body around. It had a helmeted head that was almost eight inches thick and a pair of tusks jutting from its lower jaw. These dodongos weren't predators, but savage little scavengers living in the shadow of bigger, deadlier animals.

The gastric juices of dodongos was highly acidic and could even digest bone and the most rancid flesh. They had a highly developed sense of smell, being able to track a carcass from miles away. Unlike their big brothers, these dodongos did not breathe fire as they usually shuffled away from most predators rather than fought back. Dwarf Dodongos' jaw muscles were astonishingly powerful, capable of breaking most bones and inflicting serious damage on slow-moving prey.

Some dodongos would even work together to draw predators off a carcass. One would act as a decoy while the other would get as much meat as it could bolt down. However, if the plan didn't go perfectly, they would go hungry or die. The hazards were when the predator lost interest and returned to find its lunch being plundered or caught the pursuing reptile.

Baby dwarf dodongos were born in swamps and raised in water until they were large enough to pursue their own prey. If they didn't learn about turf soon enough, the juveniles would often be killed by other animals or adults.

**Tyrant Dodongo**

_Avarutyranno (Greedy Tyrant)_

40 feet long, 12 feet at shoulder

The bigger cousins of their scavenging cousins; these monsters were the biggest of their kind. Unlike their smaller cousins, Tyrant dodongos had four limbs that supported its body like most mammals. It also had a blade-like horn on its forehead, which was most likely used in jousts for possible mates.

A unique feature of these creatures, Tyrant Dodongos could breathe fire. A gland in its chest cavity produced a gas that was predominantly hydrogen. Most Tyrant dodongos would make their roosts in a place that had rare and valuable platinum. When the two chemicals combined, they would combust. Most often this fire breath was used to cook the dodongo's prey for easier digestion, but it was easily a potent weapon against rival dinosaurs.

With its new leg build, Dodongos could easily maneuver around the trees of its jungle habitat. But its size came with a price to pay: it couldn't run fast, having to keep at least three legs on the ground like elephants. Still, it could outpace most of its prey within minutes.

Tyrant Dodongos' main biting weapons were a pair of fangs jutting from their lower jaw. These teeth impaled their prey and rammed them into the sharp teeth of the upper jaw. Although they had heavily muscled forelimbs, they couldn't use their claws to swipe prey. Instead, they used their massive feet to hold down meat as they tore of chunks small enough to eat.

**Spinosaur**

_Megaspinosaurus (Big Spine-Lizard)_

45-50 feet long, 14 feet at shoulder (excluding sail)

Dwelling near the riversides were these massive theropod dinosaurs, basking in the sun, soaking its rays up thanks to the massive sails on their back. Though these dinosaurs were easily one of the longest predators on Ancient Island, they weren't all that well-equipped for killing. Their build suggested that they were far more suited for fish-eating or scavenging.

Despite this, Megaspinosaurus was a ferocious fighter. The claws that they used to hook fish could also inflict serious damage on opposing predators. And although they had weaker jaw muscles than that of a tyrannosaur, the teeth still would inflict heavy damage to anything they could dig into. Their teeth weren't serrated like most predatory dinosaurs, but cone-shaped for holding onto moving prey, like a crocodile's.

During mating season, male Megaspinosaurus flushed blood into their sails, turning them a multitude of colors. Males were thirty percent larger than females and much more aggressive. While mating, some males actually killed females that wouldn't cooperate; otherwise seriously injuring them.

Pregnant Megaspinosaurus laid their eggs in compost near the rivers and would guard them against anything that didn't smell familiar, even predators larger than themselves. The young hatched looking like their parents in miniature and fully capable of taking care of themselves. For the first two years of their life, the mother would protect them from the hazards of the river.

Like all the predatory dinosaurs on Ancient Island, Megaspinosaurus had a short, yet wide, ribcage. Likewise, it was to help them maneuver through the island's broken terrain and jungles.

**Giant Ape**

_Gorilla gorilla gigas (Giant Gorilla)_

10-15 feet tall upright

On this island, King Kong was no fantasy creature, he was VERY REAL. Also, unlike Kong, these apes still had a healthy population, unlike Kong, who was the last of his species.

The ape of this island, unlike other gorillas, was solitary, seeking females only to mate. If they wanted to attract females, they would hoot, growl, and roar loudly as they stood up on two legs and beat their chests. Large males were known as silverbacks, easily the largest mammal on the island.

Apes here were vegetarians, eating bamboo, leaves, flowers, and fruits. To help them deal with tough vegetation, the giant gorillas had huge jaw muscles and broad molars. Giant Apes had large canines for conflict and would bite their opponents.

To break the tough vegetation they called their food, the apes had powerful forearms that were easily two-thirds of their own height and hands with an iron grip. These arms were also powerful weapons, capable of breaking the bones of even predatory dinosaurs, and could deliver powerful punches to attackers.

The massive gorillas were remarkably intelligent, able to use weapons if under attack and tools to conquer most situations. One gorilla was seen using a rock to break open a giant log and get at insects: the only meat they eat.

Most giant gorillas had crisscrossing scars all over their bodies, and some of their skeletons had tooth marks on their bones. These scars were the echoes of an age-old rivalry between the giant apes and the tyrannosaurs. Either would kill each other's young for the hope of eliminating future threats. This rivalry would erupt into fights that could last for hours and end in death; the apes armed with their fists and the tyrannosaurs armed with their teeth. It was the ultimate battle between primate intelligence and dinosaurian bloodlust.

**Giant Moa**

_Bipedornis titanus (Titanic Two-legged Bird)_

9-15 feet tall at head

The tallest and heaviest bird on the island was a true titan. Forget the elephant bird of Madagascar, on this island, there was a bird that made it look like a chicken.

Bipedornis was the largest bird to ever live, easily the size of a predatory dinosaur. Bipedornis was one of the few vertebrates to actually become two-limbed. It didn't even have sockets for wing bones to go into. In a sense, they had become the world's ultimate walking machine.

Bipedornis, despite the name, was not a Moa, which went extinct in fourteenth century New Zealand. Its closest relative was the South American Rhea: a cousin of the ostrich that specialized in eating grass. The reason it lost its wings was unknown, but most speculate that its sheer size drove off small predators of the jungle.

The massive bird was, despite its size and looks, a vegetarian. It only ate grass, leaves, and fruits at the edges of the jungle. Bipedornis wasn't aggressive, and would sooner run away on its powerful legs rather than fight. If it chose to fight, the bird would lash out with its powerful legs or peck with its hard beak. Another weapon lay in its diet. Bipedornis often ate the leaves of a plant that no other animal ate. It would regurgitate the matter of these leaves that, when touching sensitive parts of an animal such as eyes, skin, or the nose, would cause severe irritation. The regurgitated material had an adhesive that made it stick to the skin for as long as three hours.

Bipedornis are an endangered species on Ancient Island. Though they were probably never numerous, the massive bird's weakness was its breeding habits and eggs. Female Bipedornis were surprisingly picky on which males to mate with. The other key factor was their eggs. They laid only one egg the size of a football. Though the egg's size and thick shell protected it from predators such as Vastanychus, Gorgons, or Scale Hawks, predators such as dinosaurs could crush them like a gumball.

**Bugs of the wood**

Like the fish of the stream, arthropods on Ancient Island were immensely diversified, ranging from tiny ants to the giants that lived in the swamps. The bugs battled each other in a nonstop battle similar to the ones the dinosaurs and other animals waged, but in miniature.

Ancient Island was home to a unique species of ant. Related to the army ants of South America, the Blitzkrieg ants _(Gladioformis) _were about five times the size of an average black ant. At times, during the muggy morning, these ants would make it seem that the floor of the jungle had a crawling carpet of these predatory insects. This carpet would prey on anything that couldn't get away in time or a carcass, which they would strip of flesh in a matter of days if it was huge.

Ancient Island was also home to a species of predatory stick insect _(Botanicimex) _that seemed to have given up its ancestors' herbivorous nature. Pretending to be an average twig on a tree, it would spring on any unfortunate bug underneath it with its powerful jaws and staple-like claws.

The ornately decorated Chameleon Butterfly _(Chamaeleoptera) _wore an array of colors on its wings, making it possibly the most dazzling of Ancient Island's inhabitants. However, it used these colors to give a warning to would-be predators. During its time as a caterpillar, this butterfly would eat a special type of leaf that other animals avoided for their bad taste. This made the butterflies assured a safe life among the flowers of the trees.

A constant pain in this insect world was Ancient Island's Dagger Wasp _(Curapis)_, which was about the size of a hummingbird and had a sting that would even irritate dinosaurs. The dagger wasp, like some wasps, would lay their eggs on an unfortunate invertebrate. When the eggs hatched, they would have their first meal as they ate their host alive.

**The Birds**

Although they didn't dominate the skies of Ancient Island, birds were still various and had places in the treetops. The birds had greatly diversified to fit the island's territories and predators.

The island's local parrot _(Archaeopsittaco) _was easily the most beautiful bird on the island. Their inquisitive nature and large brains for a bird made them adaptable to this bloodthirsty world. Their diet included fruits and nuts that grew in the jungle canopy. Their feathers were a bright bluish-green with a few patches of yellow.

An oddity among birds was the Ancient Island Hornbill _(Heliocrista)_, which wasn't really a hornbill at all. It was an analogous species descended from South American Toucans. It was a predatory species, hunting large insects and small animals and using its beak to snap their spines.

Although it may have looked like a kiwi, the Earth-probe _(Geornis) _was actually a distant relative of African Guinea fowl. It foraged under the leaf litter, searching for worms and other bugs with its long, thin beak. Its wings were too small to fly, so it would run from predators or hide. It laid a single egg twice the size of a chicken egg, which was about half of the adult's size.

Ancient Island was also home to birds of prey such as the Emperor Eagle _(Imperiornis)_. A smaller cousin of the giant eagles that lived up in the mountains, it was still the size of the largest eagle alive today. Its tactics were different from most eagles. It would repeatedly hit the prey on several well-timed skydives until the prey died of blood loss.

The Ancient Island Hummingbird _(Chryssiptera)_ was larger than most hummingbirds today, easily the size of a person's index finger. Yet it had enough energy to flap its wings so fast, they were a blur. Its size meant that it had to drink much more nectar from the large flowers that the island could provide.

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_As you can see, the jungles are FULL of life from dinosaurs to mammals, to birds._

_Read and review_

_-Dimensiondude_


	7. The Deserts

**Deserts**

In the center of the island, beyond the chain of mountains, lay a massive desert. The mountain range surrounding it cut off all rain clouds, making water extremely rare, found only in a few oases scattered across the wastelands or the occasional cactus. Around here, animals had to make the best of whatever is available. Some of the animals took advantage of the lack of plant life to catch their prey.

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Scorpion

_Titanoscorpio horribilis (Horrible Titan-scorpion)_

9 feet long (including tail)

Scouring the sands of the massive desert was a three-meter arachnid with powerful claws and a stinger the size of a pear. Titanoscorpio was the largest arachnid on the island with deadliness to match its size. It looked like most other scorpions, with the exception of a more distinct head and a longer tail.

Like all scorpions, Titanoscorpio bore a protein in its exoskeleton that illuminated if it came into contact with ultraviolet light. Another similarity was the special pores on its body that detected vibrations in the ground and hairs near its front that detected air currents made by movement.

Titanoscorpio's venom was strong enough to kill a human in minutes, so if anything got caught in its claws, it was doomed to a slow death from paralysis. And that prey would be anything from a big lizard to a baby dinosaur. Titanoscorpio had no jaws. It used two tiny pincers near its mouth to tear the prey apart and suck out the victim's juices.

**Rattlesnake**

_Gigaviperus venomos (Poisonous giant viper)_

12 feet long, 8 inches in diameter

This desert seemed to be a world of poisonous creatures. Here, rattlesnakes were supersized, easily the size of most pythons and constrictors elsewhere and dwarfing their American cousins.

Like their smaller cousins, they had a rattle on the end of their tail that they would rattle if something other than prey gets too close. They had sensitive pits near their mouths and venomous fangs the size of a cobra's. Its jaws, like all snakes, could open at a ninety degree angle and spread out to swallow large prey.

This rattlesnake had a unique hunting strategy. It would bury itself in the desert sand near any rare desert plants and strike any animal that went for it. Its venom would cause the bitten area to swell dramatically and cause enormous devastation to any animal, whether it was a rat or even a dinosaur. If it was lucky, it would wrap its body around the prey and hold on for the venom to take effect.

**Scutosaurus**

_Scutosaurus camelus (Camel-like Scute Lizard)_

6 feet tall at shoulder, 10 feet long

Lumbering across the desert was this large reptile. It may have looked like a dinosaur, but was more closely related to turtles. Though it didn't have a shell, its back was covered in bony scutes similar to a crocodile.

Although it was called "camel-like", it doesn't really look like one. It got the namesake from its ability to survive for days in the desert without water. Its secret was its astonishing water-storing capabilities. When these one-ton animals excreted, they used very little water.

Scutosaurus were vegetarians, mainly munching on the cacti or few plants at oases. Their mouths were very tough to ensure that the cacti's spines don't harm them. They couldn't chew, so they would swallow stones to help them grind the food in their stomachs. During droughts, these animals were more dangerous than the predators. They would eat vegetation that kept most of the other desert-dwelling herbivores alive as well as drink more water than any other animal.

**Snake-lizard**

_Hydrusaurus sahara (Desert Snake Lizard)_

30 feet long

Lurking in the sands of the desert was a new type of predator. Not a true snake or lizard, Hydrusaurus was more closely related to dinosaurs, made to cope with the desert sands and heat.

Its body was low-slung, elongated, and slender, and its legs had shrunk in comparison to its body. In a sense, it was a dinosaurian dachshund. Also, to help it track warm-blooded prey, it could flick its tongue out like a lizard or snake to taste the air.

For the heat of the desert, Hydrusaurus had gained a cold-blooded metabolism, using the intense sun to warm its body. At night, when the sun was down, it would bury itself, using the warmed sand as a blanket to warm its whole body through the night.

Hydrusaurus was a predator, using the sand as cover to stalk close to prey. It could also dig through the sand in a snake slither as the sand behind it collapsed, it basically swam through the sand. When it gained sight of prey above the sand or felt it from below, it would strike, using its powerful jaws to hold it down. Its small arms were surprisingly powerful, and could use their sharp claws and teeth to disembowel prey. The most common of their prey was the lumbering Scutosaurus, which they caught by injuring the legs.

**Desert Dragon**

_Saharadraco deino (Terrible Desert Dragon)_

14-27 feet long

Another predator stalked these hazardous sands; not a dinosaur, but a slender reptile closely related to lizards and snakes. Saharadraco was a desert devil that explorers prayed they would never run into.

Saharadraco had features of both of its relatives. It had an arrow-shaped head and no eyelids like a snake, but had arms and legs and shed its tail like a lizard. Saharadraco, like snakes and monitor lizards, had a forked tongue that could taste the air and track prey.

Saharadraco was a stealth predator, hiding under the sand and waiting for prey to come close. Its body was low-slung and slender and its arms had shrunk until its hands came out of where its elbow pivot should have been. Its legs, however, were still powerful and could be used to push itself forward to catch prey from the sands. If it heard prey, or felt its footfalls, it would spring like a rattler and use its powerful tail to ensnare the prey while its powerful jaws crushed it.

Saharadraco laid its eggs under the sands where the sun would keep them warm and would protect them at all costs. The mother's tongue could also sense heat and therefore be able to tell temperature. She would remove a layer if the eggs were too cold and add one if they were too hot. When the young hatched, they slithered out of the sand looking like miniature versions of their parents.

**Sand-spider**

_Cassarachne sahara (Desert Helmet-Spider)_

8-10 inches long

Night in the desert was bad if you were small. Stalking the sands of the desert like a miniature tiger was the sand-spider, a ten-legged arthropod that was distantly related to the sunspiders of the African deserts.

When the sun set and prey was available, the sand-spider would emerge from a sand pit that it dug and scour the desert for small prey. The sand-spider could detect movement on the sand thanks to special hairs on its legs. If these hairs feel movement on or under the sand, it will hone in on whatever moved.

Sand-spiders had a pair of jaws that resembled pincers, each point could inject a paralyzing venom that would immobilize small prey in seconds. Even dinosaur chicks wouldn't last a few seconds after a bite from the arthropod.

**Sand-runner**

_Saharapedus draco (Desert-foot dragon)_

2-4 feet long, 13 inches at hip

Dashing across the desert at high speed was a unique species. Saharapedus was a species of winged reptile related to the titanic Archaeodraco, yet acted more like the North American roadrunner.

It shared the features of its mountain cousin, a pair of wings like a bat and a pair of bird-like feet. It had a small array of spines running down its back and a long, streamlined pair of jaws. These jaws were perfect for snapping up the arthropods and lizards that the desert provided. Although it could fly, Saharapedus preferred to dash across the desert at speeds of up to twenty miles per hour.

Saharapedus couldn't breathe fire like its upland cousins, and preferred to run away than fight. Another purpose of its wings was to bluff: eye patterns and bright colors gave the illusion that it was much larger than it really was. If bluffs failed, it would dart across the sands in a zigzag pattern in an attempt to wrong-foot its enemy.

**Lizards**

Scouring the desert of Ancient Island alongside invertebrates were reptiles. These reptiles were relatively new to the Island, yet they had already diversified into a variety of different forms. Although they shared features similar to most desert lizards, their closest relatives were actually South American iguanas.

The venomous Archaic Monster _(Monstrusaurus)_ was a Gila monster analog descended from iguanas. Its tail stored fat, which could sustain the lizard for several days without eating. Venom came from a gland in its lower jaw and would seep into the wound as it bit down on unfortunate prey.

Desert-runners _(Sahararaptor) _were swift lizard that were commonly seen dashing around the desert on its hind legs. However, it couldn't remain on its hind legs like a dinosaur and would only run when confronted with a predator. Desert-runners were also insectivorous, eating locusts, spiders, and scorpions in the desert sands.

The Spikelizard _(Ceratodeamus) _was a moloch analog that dug into the sands to keep warm during the night. It was the size of a squirrel, yet sustained itself on small ants, ingesting as many as fifty thousand a day. Few predators would want to bite the lizard, their only predator being Titanoscorpio.

Emerging in the desert night after being buried in the scorching sands all day came the owl lizard _(Megopthalmos)_. These nocturnal relatives of iguanas had large eyes, which most other lizards lacked. Owl lizards looked somewhat like geckos, but had actually turned herbivore. Their nocturnal nature had evolved just to avoid the attention of diurnal predators.

While other predators hunted the surface, the mole-lizard _(Talpusaurus)_ would search for grubs under the sands. Their spade-shaped feet and huge claws could shovel away sand with relative ease. However, sand wasn't like dirt, collapsing whenever the mole-lizard moved. The lizard was basically "swimming" through the sand.

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The desert, it seems, is not exactly the safest place to be. If the temperature doesn't get you, the enlarged reptiles and invertebrates will.

_Read and Review_

_-Dimensiondude_


	8. The Mountains

**Mountains**

Circling the massive desert at the center of the island was a ring of mountains. Hidden away from the dinosaurs that didn't climb at all, a new group of animals ruled here: mammals. Despite the fact that dinosaurs didn't live on these towering mountains, there were still other giant, reptilian predators that took to the wing.

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Terror Bat

_Deinomordax gigas (Giant Terrible-Bat)_

10-foot wingspan, 3 feet high

Dwelling in the mountains many caves were bats the size of most birds of prey with attitudes to match. Nocturnal hunters, they used their excellent nightvision to seek out prey in the lands down below. If they found a suitable prey item, Deinomordax would swoop down and either use its dexterous feet to seize its prey or use its sharp teeth to impale it.

Deinomordax lived in groups: up to fifty others could be in one cave or tunnel in the mountains. These mammalian flyers were surprising mothers, letting their young cling to them while they hunted. If the young remained with their mother while they were weaned, she would kill them.

Although they were considered bats, anatomically, there were differences. Unlike most bats, Deinomordax had both large ears and a leaf-shaped nose combined with large eyes, making them look more like a cross between a fruit bat and a leaf-nosed bat. Its teeth were also different from most bats, which had teeth that were like needles. The giant bat had fangs that jut out of its upper jaw like a miniature sabertooth. These fangs were used for its main specialty: killing.

Although Deinomordax looked helpless, save their teeth, they had one secret weapon. If a predator was too close, it would let out a screech to make ears bleed. The cry was so high-pitched and loud that a predator with sensitive ears would either be stunned or momentarily deafened, giving the bat enough time to escape.

**Mountain-chenia**

_Petrochenia (Rock Llama)_

9 feet long, 7 feet at shoulder

One of the most bizarre creatures on Ancient Island was the odd-looking Petrochenia. They had the basic build of mountain goats, but were the size of camels. They looked like they had a tapir's trunk, a camel's neck, and the feet of a klipspringer.

These animals were part of a long-extinct race that included the South American species Macrauchenia, which went extinct thousands of years before the island's discovery. These mammals were, in a sense, survivors of a long-lost race.

Petrochenia were surprisingly maneuverable, even on the mountains' rough terrain. Their feet were designed to not slip on slanted surfaces and remain fast at the same time. Petrochenia were also astonishing jumpers, able to leap at least ten feet high and fifteen feet in distance. They needed this agility to avoid their most common predator, the Rock Bear. These feet could even help them in balance; they could stand on surfaces as small as a teacup and not lose their footing.

**Rock Bear**

_Ursus Petros (Rock-Bear)_

10 feet tall upright

The largest mammalian predator on the island was this species of bear. Named for its pewter-colored fur, the Rock Bear used this as camouflage during hunts in the mountain ranges to stalk its prey. Unlike most bears, this one was a pure carnivore, but it still retained the stamina of its inland cousins.

The Rock Bear was surprisingly muscular, even more than its inland cousins, especially in its forelimbs. And it needed the power in its arms to climb the large rocks and heave boulders to look for food in its rocky terrain. These powerful arms could deliver a fatal blow to prey; one blow could break a prey item's back. Its claws were three inches long and are as sharp as razors, having no need to dig for food.

Rock Bears stood on their hind legs for three reasons. The first reason was to get a better look at something far away; the higher it went, the more ground it could see. The second reason was to sniff the air, because scent would sometimes drift higher with the right air current. And the final reason was to intimidate either other carnivores or each other, whether it be a territorial battle or an attempt to get at a carcass.

Rock Bears were prohibited to the mountains, away from the larger predators down below. It already had too much to worry about, and would rather not descend.

**Giant Weasel**

_Lycaictis (Wolf-Weasel)_

9-12 feet long

If the mountains were made for mammalian predators, this was a good example. Lycaictis was a ferret relative that was prepped to the size of a Siberian Tiger, making it the largest mustelid alive.

Lycaictis had a low-slung body similar to its domesticated cousin with paws made specially to grip rock. It had a surprisingly doglike head and semi-retractable claws. The reason for the sudden increase in size was probably to compare against other predators like the Rock Bear.

Lycaictis was a solitary predator, relying on stealth to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. It wasn't made to chase its prey down, so it surprised its prey with a single pounce and a bite to the neck. Not built to fight or chase, the giant mustelid specialized in smaller prey that it could kill easily and eat quickly. And that prey would be anything from a rabbit to an unsuspecting Petrochenia.

Male Lycaictis were thirty percent larger than the females and much more aggressive. Females gave birth to litters of as many as twelve kits, each one blind and helpless. They suckled on the mother's milk until they were three months old and were ready to hunt at ten months.

**Condor**

_Aerornis rex (Air Bird King)_

20-35-foot wingspan, 9 feet tall

The eagles and pterosaurs weren't the only aerial creatures with impressive wings. Ruling alongside them was a massive condor the size of a Cretaceous-age pterosaur.

Aerornis was closely related to the rare, Andean Condor with similar characteristics: a bald head, a hooked beak, and a pair of enormous wings. It could fly for several miles over the island without flapping its wings once, riding on the rising currents and keeping itself aloft on them.

Aerornis may have looked like a fearsome predator, but in reality, it was a scavenger, picking up whatever victims the treacherous mountains held. Its talons weren't made to hold things and it wasn't as muscular as its fellow birds of prey, the eagles. It would prefer a free meal over a fight any day.

Aerornis made nests of rocks and laid a single egg the size of an avocado. The mated pairs would take turn looking after it while the other would look for food. The egg had to be looked after constantly, for if one parent was off-guard, anything could happen from Deinomordax to the Rock Bear. If a predator discovered the nest, the parent guarding it would not fight, but take the egg in its beak and fly to another area. It would then build another nest and place the egg there.

**Pterosaur**

_Ornithoptera (Bird-wing)_

40-45-foot wingspan

Soaring above the island's massive mountains and coastlines was a magnificent pterosaur: Ornithoptera. However, like their ancestors, Quetzalcoatlus, they were the last of their kind.

Ornithoptera was one of the largest creatures to ever take to the air with a wingspan the size of a small airplane. However, these wings got in the way and they couldn't fold them like a bird. When they weren't flying, Ornithoptera sort of "waddled" around on all fours, its limbs bound together by the delicate wing membrane.

Male Ornithoptera were larger than the females and had longer crests. These crests were like a peacock's tail; used for display to find a mate or scare off rivals. Females laid eggs as live young would severely limit their flying capabilities. When the young hatched, they would impale their eggshells with their long beaks and eventually force their way out. If the mother wasn't there to feed them, they would often try to eat their unhatched brothers and sisters.

Ornithoptera's diet consisted mainly of fish and several could be found skimming the oceans with their beaks and snapping up any fish they touched. In the mountains, their diet consisted of carrion, small animals, and eggs. The mountains were good to scavenge meat or steal eggs as their high altitude would give the pterosaur a chance to take off.

After Ancient Island sank beneath the waves, Ornithoptera was one of the few creatures believed to have survived. The reason was their ability to fly great distances without stopping or flapping their wings very much. All humans can ask now is what land the pterosaur will call "home".

**Airaptor**

_Aeroraptor (Air Thief)_

4 feet tall, 14-foot wingspan, 8 feet long

If scientists wanted solid proof that dinosaurs came from birds, they didn't have to look any further. Darting across the mountain crags was the feathered Aeroraptor.

Aeroraptor was a new kind of dinosaur. It wasn't a bird, yet it was covered in feathers and capable of powered flight. It stalked its prey with highly-developed binocular vision. Its skeleton was honeycombed: light enough to fly, but strong enough to support its weight on land. Aeroraptor had long and lanky arms and only two claws, the third was used to support the feathers. But the amazing thing about it was that its wings weren't skin membranes like a pterosaur. It had wings that relied on feathers like a bird, but it had a long, stiff tail, non-gripping feet, and it also lacked a beak.

Aeroraptor nested on high rocks and would often take down prey as large as the Petrochenia. It would dive at its prey at speeds of up to a hundred miles per hour. When prey was in range, the Aeroraptor would use its feet to impale its prey, still retaining the sickle claw of its ancestors. If the prey wouldn't go down that easily, it would hold onto the prey with the claws on its wings and teeth, still hacking at the flesh with its sickle claw. Often, groups of Aeroraptor would work together and take turns bombarding their prey.

Aeroraptor mothers laid eggs the color of stone and made a nest of rocks to conceal them. The mother would guard the eggs with her life if she has to. Should a predator show up, she would attempt to scare it away with loud screeches and extending her wings to give the illusion that it is much more dangerous than she really is. If it fails, it will lead the predator away from the nest. There was no sense in breaking delicate bones, even when defending the eggs.

**Dragon**

_Archaeodraco (Ancient Dragon)_

16 feet tall, 40-foot wingspan, 40-45 feet long

When man explored this island, he sure was surprised to see this beast. Ruling the skies of Ancient Island was no bird of prey or pterosaur, but a giant, dinosaur relative with forty-foot wings and breath of flame. Archaeodraco was a mythology lover's dream come true.

Archaeodraco was a massive creature, easily the size of a predatory dinosaur, and as heavy as a grizzly bear. The reason it wasn't as heavy as creatures like the Tyrannosaur or Megaspinosaurus was that it had to remain light to fly.

Scientists were lucky enough to find the body of a dead dragon to find out why it could fly or breathe fire. It turned out that Archaeodraco could fly thanks to a pair of organs in its body that retained a lightweight gas that lightened the animal. The fire was also solved with different organs. Two glands in the animal's mouth released different chemicals that, when combined, would combust.

Archaeodraco resided in the mountains of Ancient Island, but would fly above grassland, lowland, and seashores in search of prey. If it should find a suitable prey item, it would swoop down and try to kill its prey with the sharp talons on its feet, which were more than a foot long. If it failed to kill its prey with its talons, violence ensued. It would kick at its victim with its talons or bite with its sharp teeth. It only breathed fire when there was no other option, because if they weren't careful, they could set the forest ablaze.

Male Archaeodraco were larger and more aggressive than females and they also had brighter colors on their wings and longer, more curved horns. While females were deep red and black, males had bright red mixed with their black skin to display dominance. The males had a vibrant display of color on the undersides of their wings; mixtures of yellow and black.

Females laid between one and three eggs that were easily the size of a football. The young hatched dependent on their mother and would remain that way until they were three years old. Juveniles had different colored wings than the adults: red patches in the shapes of eyes. When in danger, the juvenile would spread its massive wings to give the illusion that it was much larger than it really was. When they turned three, the young dragons were taught how to fly with a bit of help from the mother.

Sadly, these dragons disappeared back into mythology as the island sank beneath the waves. For the few scientists who saw it, it was an experience they would always remember.

**Lizard-bat**

_Sauromordax (Lizard bat)_

8-15 feet long, 19-25-foot wingspan, 6-8-feet tall at hip

Another of Ancient Island's ferocious and unique dragon species, Sauromordax was a smaller cousin of the monster known as Archaeodraco. Like all the island's dragons, its wings were separated by three digits like a bat rather than by a long finger like a pterosaur.

Sauromordax was a small-yet-ferocious dragon the size of the island's smaller dinosaurs. Nocturnal hunters, they spent daylight hours in caves, clinging to the walls in small colonies. There could be at least thirty individuals in a single colony.

Sauromordax hunted at night, snatching small prey from the ground in a hawk-like fashion or catching birds or bats while on the wing. A more dangerous meal was catching young Archaeodraco, often snatching one from the nest or catching it when it was learning to fly. If the parent caught the Sauromordax in action, it would lead to a dogfight or end with the bigger of the species getting a free meal.

The flying reptiles were highly maneuverable in the air, able to tip and roll to catch prey from the side or from beneath. Sauromordax caught prey using the huge talons on their feet or their razor-sharp teeth. It was not uncommon to see one burn prey with fire breath similar to their big brothers, but only when there was no other option.

Sauromordax was viviparous, giving birth to up to three chicks. They remained in the colony's cave as the mother went hunting and were fed the regurgitated remains. The mother would return with the body of a dead animal it has killed; by smelling the animal it has caught, the chicks would recognize what was safe to eat.

**Eagle**

_Dinornis aeroptera (Air-winged Terrible Bird)_

10 feet tall, 20-35-foot wingspan

Ruling the skies alongside the massive dragons on Ancient Island weren't pterosaurs. The skies were also patrolled by giant eagles that rivaled pterosaurs in size. These animals outcompeted the pterosaurs for food and the flying reptiles would have gone extinct had the destruction of the island not occurred.

The giant eagles' talons were their main weapon and it retained the hunting strategy of the smaller eagles of the mainland. They would attack their enemy from above, impaling the prey on its massive talons. And that prey could be anything from a Rock Bear to a dinosaur. When three eagles hunted large prey, they would take turns bombarding the prey with their talons until it drops form injury. Then they will dine, mothers saving pieces of meat in their stomachs to regurgitate for chicks.

Giant eagles were different from their mainland cousins in flying style. These eagles were highly maneuverable in the air, capable of performing a three hundred-sixty degree spin in midair and tipping onto their sides. They used their highly maneuverable flying ability to snatch prey from midair, catching them from above or from the underside.

The eagle's eggs were the size of footballs and mothers laid them in a rock nest high in the mountains. The mother would sit on them and turn them occasionally to ensure they kept warm in the chilly mountain air. Mothers were fiercely protective of their eggs; not even the father could go near them without assurance.

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Well, that's it. I've gotten to every habitat on the island and every creature. It's the end of the story, BUT if you have any suggestions on creatures, I will gladly hear it.


	9. The Caves

Caves

Underneath Ancient Island's mountain range were crisscrossing caves that went underground several miles. The animals under the surface of the island had to eat, not plants, but fungus, insects, or each other, mainly living in near-total darkness. The caves were rarely explored, but in the dark depths of the earth, man certainly knew that vertebrates didn't rule the roost here...

**Hydra**

_Terrahydrus umbra (Dark Earth-Snake)_

20 feet long, 4 feet high

A true oddity from the Ancient Island tunnels was a long, serpentine monster of sorts. The Hydra lurked in stolen tunnels made by other animals, waiting to spring on any unsuspecting prey that might be unfortunate to step too close.

The Hydra, despite its name, was NOT a snake, but a strange lizard relative that seemed to be going down the road to leglessness. The Hydra only had two powerful hindlimbs, but it seemed to be enough for it to survive in the dark, dank environment of the caves. Another feature was a long, flexible neck and a powerful tail resembling a python's, often used to help scope for prey in small tunnels.

In order to adapt to cave life, the Hydra evolved another way to "see" in the dark. Its large eyes may have helped slightly, but light was not always available in the networking caves. To make up for it, the Hydra evolved a snakelike tongue and lost the use of its ears. The tongue would flick in and out of its mouth to sense warm-blooded prey like bats, mammals, or the unique cave reptiles. And, also like a snake, the Hydra could "hear" by placing its jaw to the ground and picking up vibrations through the ground.

The Hydra may have been a successful predator and excellent opportunist, but it wasn't the top predator. It still lived in the shadows of bigger, deadlier animals.

**Cave Tarantula**

_Arachnea noocula (Blind Spider)_

6-inch legspan

A hardy little arthropod, the Cave Tarantula was a common sight in the caves of Ancient Island. Adapted for living in darkness, Cave Tarantulas were completely blind: losing their eyes completely and using their other senses to check on the world around them.

Cave Tarantulas, like their namesakes were covered in several bristly hairs used mainly in defense. If it sensed a potential threat, the Cave Tarantula would unleash a spray of these hairs that caused severe irritation to soft spots like the nose, eyes, and throat.

To adapt to cave life, these spiders evolved longer palps, turning them into something analagous to something to an insect's antennae. With these sensory limbs, the Cave Tarantulas can feel the world around them and sense vibrations in the ground or the cave walls. Interesting enough, it can even tell the size and weight of whatever is approaching. The predator would have to move fast to catch the tarantula, for the bugs often saw them coming before the predators saw them.

**Demonwig**

_Mephistocimex axicis (Scissor Devil-Bug)_

6 feet long

A hardy little opportunist, the Demonwig was a giant earwig relative but far from as harmless. Due to the predators of the darkness, the Demonwigs had to get big, fast. Armed with powerful jaws, claws, and a flexible tail pincer, the Demonwig could take on all kinds of prey.

Demonwigs had tails that could pinch together like a pair of pliers and it had grown a strong, muscular abdomen that was analagous to a scorpion's tail. The tail pincer would help to hold the prey still while the Demonwig got a good hold with their powerful jaws.

Demonwigs were excellent hunters, though they were more often to eat the carcass of a dead animal; one from the cave's depths or one from the surface that got too careless and wandered in. Another reason for carrion was so that females could lay their eggs in it. Those eggs that didn't get eaten by other predators lived on to be one of the most notorious cave-dwellers the world has ever known.

**King Scorpionfly**

_Scorpiopteris basilis (King Scorpion-wing)_

3-foot wingspan

On the mainland today, scorpionflies are small, flying insects. On Ancient Island, they had evolved to an extreme: becoming fast, deadly, and venomous: a far cry from their inland cousins.

King Scorpionflies differed from their inland cousins in many ways. The first notable thing was their size, as they were enormous compared to their cousins. Another notable difference was that their front limbs had turned into a pair of small pincers to hold their prey still.

The real change from these giants and their inland cousins were their tails. The sting-like projection on the Ancient Island species was now as venomous as their namesakes, unlike their relatives which used them for mating. The venom would affect the nervous system, paralyzing the prey while its jaws tore at its flesh, exoskeleton, or anything edible that was there.

**Flesh Carver**

_Homovorocimex (Man-Eating Bug)_

5 feet long

Crawling around the walls of the Ancient Island Caves was a miniature monster that had really begun to make it big. The flesh-carver was an enlarged insect distantly related to modern-day cockroaches with adaptability to match. They were easily the most numerous creatures in Ancient Island Caves, but were confined there due to their large eyes.

The flesh carver skittered over cave walls, often seeming to defy gravity at times. An opportunistic insect, the flesh carver often didn't live up to its name of man-eating bug, eating mushrooms, fecal matter, and carrion alike.

Like an African relative, female flesh carvers carried their egg sacs with them rather than deposit them like most roaches. This gave the larvae a better chance at survival against the world around them.

Despite their nature as predators and scavengers, flesh carvers were more often a prey item for bigger, nastier animals. Their sensitive antennae and large eyes gave them a fighting chance to avoid predators, but they were more often caught by either Scorpionflies, Hydras, or the infamous cave-dragons.

**Pitfall Spider**

_Subterrachne (Underground Spider)_

6-foot legspan

In the caves of Ancient Island, animals had to watch their step. Should part of the ground feel softer than the rest, most animals were dead the next five seconds thanks to a notorious predator.

Subterrachne was a massive spider that dwarfed all the others. It was large enough to kill a human and many of the other cave dwellers that haunted the depths of Ancient Island.

Subterrachne may have been large and powerful, but it came at the cost of its ability to move lightning-fast. To make up for it, the arachnid lived up to its other name of "Pitfall Spider". The Pitfall Spider would find a hole in the ground and turn it into a hunter's lair: lining it with webs that acted as tripwires.

Any prey unfortunate enough to stumble upon the trap would be seized by the spider, dragged underground and injected with paralyzing venom to be drained of juices.

Subterrachne had only a handful of competitors and enemies, but the giant spider was more than smart enough to avoid those it couldn't take down.

**Claw Scorpion**

_Nychocimex (Claw Bug)_

10 feet long

A bizarre relative of spiders and scorpions, Nychocimex was an apex predator amongst the cave's arthropod predators. Often stalking in crevices in cave walls, the giant scorpion was an effective predator.

Nychocimex was an ambush predator, as it was too slow to chase its prey. Special pores on the front of its body detected changes in air current, and if any prey got too close, it would spring.

Nychocimex also lacked a feature of most other scorpions: the tail. It didn't need venom to kill its prey, because its massive pincers could easily crush it. These pincers were easily half the bug's body length and had to be held at the front of the body in order to be able to move without tripping.

**Frog-Newt**

_Ranisaurus (Frog Lizard)_

13 feet long, 4 feet at shoulder

The dampness of the cave proved quite effective with some species. Such was the case with Ranisaurus, possibly the most curious vertebrate in the caverns.

Ranisaurus was not a lizard or a dinosaur, but a giant amphibian descended from giant salamanders. Lurking in cave pools, the massive amphibian didn't have to deal with the competition of giant fish or crocodiles. Therefore, Ranisaurus could thrive in the caves without any threat, save the massive predators above water.

Ranisaurus' method of attacking was similar to modern crocodiles: ambushing prey from underwater and dragging prey down into the water to drown it. This method of attack heralded of an age when amphibians were the lords of the river.

**Panther Shark**

_Pardicthys megoptha (Big-eyed Leopard fish)_

16 feet long

Amphibians weren't the only giants that lived in the cave springs. Also lurking in the tempting pools was a massive predator of the water.

Panther sharks weren't really sharks, but an elephantine relative of modern piranhas. No longer the small pack hunters, the panther shark grew more streamlined and turned the color of darkness. It had truly turned into a lone wolf hunter.

Panther sharks laid hundreds of eggs, but only a few would make it to adulthood, ending up eaten by either water bugs or by the tadpoles of the infamous frog-newts. Panther shark young, oddly enough, were filter feeders: feeding on small plants and animals that lived in the water.

Panther sharks also had methods of seeing in the dark: strange whiskers analogous to a catfish. Should these whiskers sense the right vibrations in water, it could pinpoint exactly where prey was. Then the panther shark would use its shark-esque teeth to tear the prey to shreds.

**Cave Squid**

_Deinokraken (Terrible Kraken)_

10-foot tentacle-span

One of the most disgusting creatures to thrive in the caves was the notorious cave squid: a bizarre cephalopod that had given up sea life completely. The cave squid had come inland to hunt prey, just as most people feared.

Cave squids were not true squids, but were more of an amphibious octopus. Rather than gills, the cave squid had simple lungs that could absorb oxygen from both water and air. The results were uncanny.

Cave squids, used their tentacles to walk around the cave's rock walls and floor. Now that it had dragged itself from the water, its tentacles could help support its weight a bit. And their ink, which used to be used as a smokescreen, could be sprayed at a predator's eyes to cause extreme pain.

Being carnivores, cave squids would scavenge a carcass or catch prey from pools. Once caught by a cave squid, the prey would be dragged to the mouth and get crushed by a horny beak. For larger prey, the cave squid also had venom glands that would be injected and cause paralysis to its unfortunate victim.

Like their marine cousins, cave squids laid hundreds of eggs, which the mothers would usually ended up dying when they hatched. Cave squids grew fast, but were still prey to water-dwelling beetles, fish, and amphibians.

**Malice Louse**

_Dermacavaro (Skin-carver)_

5 inches long

Out of all the parasitic creatures, this insect was possibly the worst to get attached to. The Malice Louse, a giant relative of head lice, lived on the skins of giant arthropods, reptiles, and any other cave dwellers.

Malice lice grew large to get help get under the skin of tough-skinned animals from the giant cave dragons to any animal that wandered into the dark tunnels. Their powerful mouthparts helped them chew through the scales of reptiles and get at the succulent blood inside.

Since most of their hosts didn't have any hair, malice lice developed a new way to lay their eggs. Using their jaws, they would open up the skin and deposit eggs in the incision. Several such cuts were necessary in order for young to survive.

The young, after hatching, would chew through the skin and emerge as small versions of the adults, but would seek different hosts to avoid competition. But the amount that did survive was unlikely, because the hosts would often scratch them out or kill them as they emerged from their skin cocoons.

**Devil Worm**

_Hydrucimex subterranea (Underground Snake-Bug)_

5-10 feet long

Several weird and disgusting creatures lived in the Ancient Island cave network. But out of all of these creatures, Hydrucimex, the Devil Worm, was the most disgusting of them all.

Although it had a tough outer coating and a nasty mouthful of teeth, Hydrucimex was not an arthropod. It was more closely related to segmented worms such as earthworms or leeches. But unlike its relatives, Hydrucimex did not eat dirt or suck the blood of animals.

Hydrucimex had evolved to an extreme, now that it had made it big, it went from a bottom-feeder to an extreme opportunist. It would wait for prey to wander into the water it called home, and if it sensed any vibrations in the water, it would follow the prey and ambush it, using its powerful jaws to penetrate the hide of almost any creature.

Hydrucimex could also go onto land in search of one of its favorite foods: carrion. It couldn't move as well on land as it could in water, but it did have a unique defense against predators. If it was attacked, its body would secrete a highly acidic complexion and squirt at a predator. Some predators, however, were immune to it, so it didn't always work.

**Cave Dragon**

_Dracocimex subterra (Underground Dragon-Bug)_

35 feet long, 10 feet tall at shoulder

Even underground, there were giant reptiles that reigned supreme. The apex predator of the caves, Dracocimex ruled the underground network of tunnels like the tyrannosaurs above ground.

Possibly the most bizarre dragon to have ever existed, Dracocimex had four limbs, but not in the way that all dragons had them. THIS one had lost its wings completely and only had one long digit on its hands. These digits looked like long spears and were used as weapons and feelers. Even though the hands had turned into no more than large pikes, the feet had changed even more dramatically. They were used for both locomotion and as primary manipulators, acting as both feet and hands.

Dracocimex had another adaptation to cave life other than hands-turned-feelers. Special pores on the side of its head detected electrical discharges made by movement. If any prey was moving, it would be able to sense it.

When attacking, Dracocimex would lash out with its long claws, snap with its sharp teeth, and like its mountain-dwelling cousin, it could breath fire to roast its prey.

Male Dracocimex, unlike most dragons, were smaller than the females, but far more aggressive. Come mating season, a male would lash at an uncooperative female, leaving scars down the head or body.

Dracocimex laid several eggs, which the mother would guard fiercely. Only daring creatures would dare try to steal these eggs, but most ended up dead in seconds. Young Dracocimex were guarded by the mother for a few months, but after that, they had to learn to survive quickly. To try and survive, young Dracocimex would climb up cave walls, which was something that adults couldn't do, due to their weight.

Sadly, these strange beasts would be driven to extinction when the island sank, along with all the other organisms of Ancient Island.

**Cave Life**

Several other creatures lived in the caves, trying to survive in near-total darkness. Some had lost their eyesight completely while others developed other ways to "see" in the nightmarish pits of the island depths. Some were insects, some were mammals, while others were just too odd for the mind.

One of the few mammals in the Ancient Island caves, the Imp Bats _(Ictimordax)_ numbered in their hundreds as they flocked through the skies of Ancient Island, catching insects along the way. These bats were also a prey item for both cave life and the predatory birds of Ancient Island.

Ancient Island was also home to a species of blind cave catfish _(Noopthalmicthys)_. Rather than use eyes to see, these odd, white fish would use their whiskers to feel changes in the water current. If danger is detected, the fish would flee, but if cornered, it could deliver a nasty bite.

Bear Frogs _(Ursaranida)_ were a giant form of bullfrog that had eyes bigger than those of any other species of frog. Named for their powerful forelimbs, the massive frogs would use them to pin down any prey as they crushed them in their powerful jaws.

An oddity among reptiles everywhere, the Skin-wing _(Dermoptera)_ was a species of dragon that had adopted a bat-like appearance and a way of living. It grew bat-like wings analogous to a pterosaur's, large eyes for night vision, and grasping feet to grab prey and walls alike.


End file.
